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Saturday, May 25, 2013

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Former Marine, Fire Captain Describes Loss of Sons on 9/11

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press ServiceBROOKLYN, N.Y., May 21, 2013 - Former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant and retired New York City fire captain John Vigiano is all too familiar with what he calls bad days.

Speaking after the Armed Forces Wounded Warrior Mural Dedication Ceremony at the William McKinley Intermediate School here, the soft-spoken, silver-haired veterans' advocate discussed his experiences as military member, first responder and grieving father.

Having spent nearly four decades as a firefighter in Brooklyn, he seldom considered his life-saving responsibilities as work so much as a passion.

"Thirty-six years ... I think I went to work five days, maybe six," Vigiano said. "The rest of it was just great."

Other days, he remembered, were not so great.

"Those were days of pretty significant losses," Vigiano said. "When a fireman dies in your hands, you never forget that. It's not a good day. The first time you find someone burned to death, it's not a good day."

But nothing, he said, could ever prepare him for the events of Sept. 11, 2001 –- the morning that both of his sons, John Jr. and Joe, perished in the line of duty while saving lives as the World Trade Center collapsed.

"9/11 will take me to the grave; both my sons were killed that day," he said, his head lowered. "You go to bed saying, 'I hope I don't dream about it again, but you do.'"

John Jr. followed in his father's footsteps as a New York City firefighter, while his younger brother, Joe, served as a detective in the New York Police Department. That particular morning, Vigiano was home watching the tragedy unfold with the rest of the world.

"The police department took my wife and me down to headquarters that afternoon and I stayed there until they closed the site," Vigiano said. "Everyday from 6:30 in the morning to midnight, I'd walk the pile."

At his wife's request, he did not dig.

"She said, 'if anything happens to you, I have nobody,'" he recalled. "So I just stood in the back and when a body was recovered, I'd go down and say a prayer and go back."

His voice trembling, Vigiano said rescue teams found Joe's remains, but they never found John Jr.

The elder Vigiano said his young granddaughter grew to comprehend that the spirit of her father lives on.

"That's taken a lot to try and explain to her that his soul is still with us – that the body doesn't mean anything," Vigiano said.

Still, John and his wife of 50 years, Jan, pray for the day they find the bit of DNA that can finally bring them some closure.

"My wife and I bond together and we had 34 and 36 great years," Vigiano said of his sons' respective lives and, ironically, John Jr's badge number, 3436.

"The last words that I spoke to my sons: 'I love you' and they said 'I love you. It don't get better than that."

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Biden: Coast Guard Has Growing Role in Nation's Security
By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, May 22, 2013 - Vice President Joe Biden told the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's graduating class today they are entering a world of new threats, some that didn't even exist when they were born, and that the service's changing mission means they are not joining "your father's Coast Guard."

"No graduating class gets to choose the time into which they graduate, and you're graduating into a world that is rapidly changing," Biden told the nearly 300 men and women about to be commissioned in New London, Conn., "from challenges and missions to changing climates."

Biden noted the Coast Guard has become fully integrated into the U.S. military, playing an increasingly complex role in national security, given the types of post-Cold War threats America now faces.

"New stateless actors have stepped into the breach with the desire to smuggle weapons of terror into American ports in the belly of cargo containers to do our people great harm," he said.

Human trafficking and piracy on the high seas are occurring at rates no one would have imagined 50 years ago, the vice president said, posing growing challenges to free trade and commerce.

"More than at any time in history, every nation's economic power and viability [are] tied to the global economy and dependent on the safe passage of goods on the seas," he added.

Another responsibility for the 2013 graduating class will be increasing operations in the Arctic. Biden said the melting of the polar ice caps triggered by global warming will likely open up new international shipping routes.

"You'll operate icebreakers that allow ships to navigate waters that would otherwise be impassable from the Great Lakes in the Northeast to new passages in the Arctic," he said.

BidenHe also highlighted Coast Guard achievements, especially the dangerous missions the service is routinely called on to carry out, from helping victims of Hurricane Sandy last year to humanitarian missions further from home.

"Your shipmates have saved 3,650 lives last year alone, risking their lives," he noted.

From natural disasters to rescues at sea, Biden said, "there are tens of thousands of grateful men and women and children from all parts of the world who will tell anyone who will listen that the most welcome sight they've ever seen are those racing stripes coming toward them or the sound of that orange Coast Guard helicopter above them, lowering a bucket with a man or woman inside to save their lives.

"In this changing world, we are going to be increasingly dependent on you," he said.

Dempsey Kicks off Memorial Day Weekend with TAPS Families
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, May 24, 2013 - The nation's highest-ranking military officer told his audience today at the Crystal City Marriott here that as "The Star-Spangled Banner" plays across the United States this Memorial Day weekend, it will be uniquely their song.

"You're the ones that sacrificed so we can play that national anthem," he said.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deedee Dempsey, spent time today with the estimated 2,200 participants gathered here this weekend for the annual Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp. TAPS is an organization for families of service members who died in combat, by suicide, in training or from sudden illness.

"It must be something extraordinary for you to listen to the national anthem, because no one has had the experience of being handed a folded flag," the chairman said. "You have. And those of us who haven't experienced that don't know, really, what that -- I can't even conceive of what it must be like."

Dempsey told the adult audience he addressed today -- he also spoke separately to the children -- that he and Deedee build their Memorial Day weekend calendar around the seminar "because I find you to be an incredibly inspirational group."

Hundreds of red-T-shirted men and women gathered in the hotel's ballroom to listen to the general. The red T-shirts are for TAPS members, but some also had "peer mentor" or "volunteer" written on the back. White T-shirts, for staff members, dotted the room. Outside, the TAPS children assembled for their own time with the chairman.

Each child was accompanied by a blue-T-shirted mentor. Mentors, according to TAPS guidelines, must be current service members or recent veterans and must have lost someone close to them.

The chairman said that while the sense of community in TAPS makes the seminar an event he and Deedee look forward to, it's also a sad occasion.

"You're here because you've suffered some incredible sadness and loss in your life," the chairman said. He added that unfortunately, the organization is likely to continue growing "for a while."

"Just before I came over here I signed nine letters of condolence to nine families who are recent members of your community," he said. "And I hope that at some point, when they're ready, they'll join you."

People who have lost a loved one need to be able to talk to others who understand some of what they've been through, Dempsey said.

"And that's you," he said. "I appreciate the fact that you're willing to come here, not just to get something, but to give something. That's really what makes this such a powerful gathering of men and women -- and children, actually."

The five-day event began May 22 with training and preparation, and culminates this weekend with activities including camps for younger and older children and workshops on topics from art therapy to "turning hurt into hope," for adults. The seminar also includes a run/walk, balloon release, sunset parade, Pentagon tour, baseball game and other activities. TAPS staffers pair children one-on-one with a mentor -– 500 for this seminar -- who will stay with them throughout the events.

Amy Neiberger-Miller, who handles the organization's publicity, explained the organization often seeks to pair children with a service member or veteran who has completed the organization's mentor training and has a similar occupation to the child's lost parent.

"If a child's father was a helicopter pilot, then we can match them with a mentor who is also [one], who can tell them what it's like to fly," she said. "Many come back here year after year, from very far away, to be here and support these children."

Dempsey left the ballroom full of adults, and soon after he went next door to another ballroom, where children of all ages and their mentors sat on the carpeted floor waiting for him. Among those still entering the room before the general arrived, much piggybacking and tickling could be observed.

Army Sgt. James Cunningham, now in the individual ready reserve and about to leave service, sat next to a 7- or 8-year-old boy he introduced as "Ro-ro." The two whispered and laughed and looked at a smartphone screen together while waiting for the chairman.

When Ro-ro wasn't paying attention, Cunningham quietly confided that while in the active Army, he had lost a friend to suicide, and later another to a suicide bomber.

"It goes on and on, unfortunately," he said.

The chairman sang "The Unicorn Song" at the top of the program for the younger children, and a version of Train's "[Not a] Drive By" for the older ones. Dempsey's version of the chorus to "Drive By" included:

"Oh I swear to you
We'll be there for you
This is not a drive-by
Just between us, nothing comes between us ..."

Several of the children took part in a question-and-answer period. Many chose to tell the chairman about the parent they had lost, mostly in Afghanistan.

One boy said, "He was at war once in Afghanistan. He really liked to play games with me and my brother ... then he had to go back to Afghanistan, and he died. I don't know how he died."

Dempsey left the children laughing, ready to keep singing. Minutes earlier, before he left the adult session, he had a final message for everyone in a red T-shirt.

The chairman said, "I promise you that despite all the complexities of life in Washington these days, and all the uncertainty about the future of our budget, and all the things that make headlines and make for good 24/7 news, that we will remember what's most important about our nation. And that is the care for soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, our veterans, and those who have lost their life in the service of our country and their families."

"Even though our presence may be winding down in Afghanistan, these packages are going to mean an awful lot to our troops who are serving in harm's way," said USO President Sloan D. Gibson. "We're sending a clear message to our troops that are serving our country overseas, [and] we appreciate everyone who has volunteered to be here today to help us."

Gibson expressed his gratitude to the Sesame Workshop, which has partnered with the USO since 2008 and has entertained 368,000 military family members in more than 630 shows at 143 bases in 33 states and 11 countries.

"And they've traveled over 125,000 miles during that period of time," he added. "We're really proud of that partnership."

Lynn Chwatsky, vice president for outreach initiatives and partners for the Sesame Workshop, also shared her appreciation for the opportunity to continue helping America's families.

"This partnership with the USO has truly allowed us to deliver on our mission of helping all children in need, [and] to help all children grow and achieve their highest potential," she said.

Whether it's helping children learn their alphabet and their numbers, showing them how to maintain a healthy lifestyle or helping them through some challenges in their lives, Sesame is there for them, Chwatsky noted.

"And we're committed to our military families -- we have been since 2006, with our Military Families Initiative," she said. "What this amazing partnership with the USO allows us to do is reach these families directly."

Chwatsky said the care packages would deliver some "love, joy and hope" to service members, and let them know "their friends in the USO and Sesame are there for them."

Gibson also welcomed the newest USO congressional caucus co-chairman, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who retired as a command sergeant major in the Army National Guard and was one of many congressional leaders who stopped by to load care packages.

"Thank you to each of you, the volunteers that are here," Walz said. "I can't express my gratitude [enough,] on behalf of the people of southern Minnesota and across this country. Thanks for bringing a little bit of comfort to our warriors who are down range, and just as importantly, to their families. When you're on the receiving end of these packages like [our troops] have been, it really means a lot."

Congressional volunteers also included U.S. Reps. Buck McKeon of California, Bill Posey of Florida and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, as well as U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and many congressional staffers.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Press Availability in Tel Aviv, Israel
Press Availability
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Ben Gurion International Airport
Tel Aviv, Israel
May 24, 2013

SECRETARY KERRY: Thanks very much, folks. Appreciate your patience. It’s really been terrific to be back here in Israel, and also to be able to pay a visit to the Palestinian territories. Enjoyed a shawarma and a small walk on the streets, which was fun.

I had very productive meetings with leaders in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority. As everyone knows, Israel remains our closest ally and a partner in the region, and we will continue to work together in order to enhance regional security and stability. And we will also continue to work with the Palestinian Authority in order to help them to be able to reach and meet their aspirations.

I believe that President Obama’s trip here earlier in the year opened up a window of opportunity, and it showed that there are strong constituencies for peace both in the West Bank, in the Palestinian territories, as well as in Israel. The polls overwhelmingly showed – perhaps 68, 72 percent of the people of Israel believed in a two-state solution. Peace is actually possible, notwithstanding the doubts that some people have because of past disappointments.

So the bulk of my discussions while I was here were therefore focused on how to move forward to try to achieve the negotiations that are necessary to bring about a just and lasting peace and security. I will continue my close engagement with both the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders going forward as needed in an effort to try to bridge any divide or to try to find the framework by which negotiations could begin.

I am convinced that the people on both sides of this conflict want it to end, but there are obviously different views about how to get there or who takes the first step or what the successive measures are in order to be able to get there. And so that’s what we have to deal with here. Israelis have a clear priority, which we understand and support, with respect to the issue of security, and they need and deserve that security. Palestinians have a priority concern with respect to knowing that they can secure an independent, sovereign, and prosperous state with clear lines as defined previously by them and others along the 1967 lines with swaps and recognizing changes that have taken place on the ground, as President Obama stated in his vision in 2011.

There is one way to make any of these visions a reality, and that is through direct negotiations. Ultimately it is the Israeli and the Palestinian people who will both decide the outcome or even the possibility of getting to those negotiations, and it is ultimately the people of Israel and Palestinians who will achieve the greatest benefits from a peace, and it is they who must make their voices heard.

Leaving this conflict unresolved for decades has deprived generations of security, and it has deprived people of the recognition that they deserve. And it is clear that – despite the sense of status quo, which for many is acceptable, it is clear that, in the long run, that status quo is not really sustainable. We all know that the longer it takes to bring about a peaceful end to this conflict the more and more difficult it will become to do so.

So I made clear in my discussions that the parties should be focused on making progress towards the direct negotiation, and each side needs to work to build trust and each side needs to refrain from any provocative rhetoric or actions that take us backwards. Ultimately, ending this conflict will take leadership on both sides. And as we look to restart negotiations, we look forward to working with the Israeli Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his new government, as well as the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of President Abbas.

Achieving a lasting peace is also in the interests of all the communities in this region, all of the countries in the region. Just last month in Washington, the Arab League representatives stood up and reiterated their support for ending this conflict, and they moved voluntarily to adjust the initiative to reflect where we are today with the realities on the ground.

In addition, I will say that in every conversation I have had in the trips the President has asked me to make over the course of the last months – whether in China or Japan, or throughout Europe or throughout the Gulf, or visitors who have come to see me as recently as last week, the day before – the day I left to come here, the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Antonio Patriota, or the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Mr. McCully – all said – they almost began their conversations with discussion of the need for and the potential of peace within the Middle East. This is a global concern for a lot of different reasons.

I was very encouraged by the statement from the Arab League delegation that said that a future agreement ought to be based on a two-state solution along the ’67 lines with comparable and mutually agreed upon swaps. The United States remains deeply committed to the goal of two states living side-by-side in peace and security, and it is only through direct negotiations that the Israelis and the Palestinians can address the permanent status issues and achieve the peace that both deserve – a peace with two states for two peoples with a sovereign and viable, independent Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security with a Palestinian homeland and a homeland for the Jewish people. That remains our goal.

I know that in some corridors, I know there are those who are skeptical, and some even because of prolonged skepticism might even call themselves cynical. And there are legitimate reasons for that. There have been years of disappointments. It’s our hope that by being methodical, being careful, being patient, but detailed and tenacious, that we can find a path that will ultimately lead to peace. I emphasize it will not be because the United States makes it happen or some other country does – this is a peace that must be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians and their elected leadership. That is what we’re working towards.

I thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for his warm and generous welcome while here, his hospitality. I thank him for his efforts and I thank President Abbas for his warm hospitality and for his efforts. And I call on both of them in the next days to demonstrate the leadership that I believe the people in the Palestinian territories and in Israel hope for.

Thank you. I’d be happy to answer any questions.MS. PSAKI: The Secretary – sorry.SECRETARY KERRY: Or any questions. I guess I’m --MS. PSAKI: Okay. The Secretary will take five questions this afternoon. The first will be from Arshad Mohammed of Reuters.SECRETARY KERRY: Arshad, you’re on.QUESTION: In Rome two weeks ago, you’ve said you believe both the Israelis and the Palestinians, both sides, were serious about the possibility of resuming peace negotiations. Last week, Israeli court documents showed that the government plans to retroactively legalize their previously illegal outposts.SECRETARY KERRY: Mm-hmm.QUESTION: Is that the act of a government that is serious about peace talks? Have you asked the Israeli Government for a full public settlement freeze to head into talks? And can you point to actions on either side that demonstrate – that show seriousness?SECRETARY KERRY: I’m not going to comment on what was asked for, not asked for, what was – any of the sort of private conversations I’ve had with the leaders except to say this: That issue was raised appropriately, and we did discuss the status of settlements overall and the need for both sides to take steps that indicate a willingness to try to move forward.

Now, the United States position with respect to settlements is clear, and it has not changed. We believe they should stop. That is a position that has been consistent not just by the United States but by the international community. And it is also clear that when actions are taken – whether by court or otherwise – it is our view that those actions can be deemed by some to be provocative, and they are not necessarily constructive with respect to the process. So it is our hope that there will be a minimal effort there.

Now, some of this is, frankly, beyond the control, and I understand that. There are some private and individual permits granted some time ago, and in terms of the legality, there is no capacity to move on them. But in other ways, certainly the government has an ability to be able to make a difference here in the next months. It’s my hope that they will, but I’m not going to go into any specific discussion of sort of what steps they may or may not take or where we are.

As I’ve said, we are trying to get to talks without pre-conditions. We do not want to get stuck in a place where we are arguing about a particular substantive issue that is actually part of a final settlement, and that argument takes you so long that you never get to the negotiations that bring about the final settlement. So the key here, in my judgment, is to show patience on both sides. There will be things that each side may choose to do that may create problems for the other side or change the politics. That’s pretty normal out here in this part of the world. Our hope is that everybody will stay focused on the prize, focused on the goal, and that is to negotiate in full faith on the broad basis that ends the anxiety and the tension over some of these other issues, because you’ve actually solved them by reaching a settlement on the broader components of the conflict itself.MS. PSAKI: The next question will come from Christine Renawi.QUESTION: Yeah. I’m from Palestine TV and (inaudible) news agency. Yeah, about Israel declared recently that it’s in the process of legitimatizing the four settlement outposts in the Palestinian territories. What’s your position towards that? And finally, what are the prospects of the peace process on the light of your meetings with Netanyahu and Mr. President Abbas?SECRETARY KERRY: Well, as I just said, our position on settlements and outposts and on the legalization is that we are opposed to it. We believe that that is not appropriate, and, in fact, is not constructive in the context of our efforts to move forward. But it should not be something, as I just said, that prevents us from being able to get to negotiations, because if you can negotiate borders, and if you negotiate security and get to a final settlement, you have resolved the issue of settlements themselves. That’s the way you resolve the issue, is by deciding what is in the Palestinian state and what are the rules there and what is Israel and what are the rules there. And the sooner we get to that, the sooner the question of settlements is resolved.

With respect to where we are in the process, I’m not going to comment, except to say that we have reached – I’ve been here now a number of times. Both sides know what the choices are. Both sides know what is needed in order to try to move forward. And it’s really time for the governments to make their decisions. Are they prepared? This is not something, as I said, that we can decide. This is something that the leaders of Israel and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority have to decide. And we’re getting towards a time now where hard decisions need to be made.MS. PSAKI: The next question will come from Michael Gordon of The New York Times.QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, Palestinian officials have said that June 7th is the date by which they hope to see discernible progress in the peace process. They say that you’ve asked them to suspend their efforts to join international organizations or take steps that would reinforce their claim to statehood prior to that. What do you hope to accomplish in June? Is that month a target date for you? And if there is no progress in that month, what restraint will you ask for of each side?SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I’m not going to get into specific dates, Michael. I don’t think setting one date or another unilaterally and arbitrarily necessarily advances things. But I will say this: President Obama, when he was here, made it very clear to all of the folks that he talked with – he made it clear to the Palestinians, he made it clear to the Israeli leadership – that he was going to give this a certain period of time, a few months is the term that he phrased it in, and then he was going to take stock of where we are to try to determine whether or not the parties are serious about coming back to the table and negotiating. He was here March 23rd. We are now May 23rd; that’s two months. And we’re moving into June.

So we are obviously moving in to a point where, as I just said, we are reaching the time where leaders need to make hard decisions. And I think that speaks for itself.MS. PSAKI: The next question will come from Mala Barty from Israeli Channel 10.QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, is there any readiness from the Israeli side to go for confidence-building measures such as settlement freeze in the territories prior to the resumption of negotiation? If not, is there a readiness from the Palestinian side to go back to the table without getting these steps from the Israelis prior to the resumption? And in a more important sense, we know there are gaps. But you were here a month ago, and you’re saying the time is running out. And we understand that you will plan to come back here next Monday, but you somehow not (inaudible) regarding what happened in the last day.SECRETARY KERRY: Yeah.QUESTION: But what’s necessary to – now to happen in order for you to come back for next round of talk? Thank you.SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me begin by saying that time is running is out is sort of the wrong phraseology, if you don’t mind my saying so. It – the question is whether or not people are going to make the hard choices with respect to getting back to negotiations, and the timeframe within which the President said he wanted to have a sense of that is obviously coming due. But no, I think that it’s important for us to not create some sort of artificial standard. If it’s a week, two weeks, something like that, I think we need to allow folks to make their decisions within a reasonable framework in the next days ahead.

I don’t know what this thing about Monday is. I think we had a day where I might have been able to come back if I needed to, but I don’t think I do need to. And so I’m going to be speaking at the World Economic Forum; I’ll have a little more to say there about this process. But then I’m going to go on to other meetings and other business that I have as Secretary of State, while others obviously consider the choices that they know now are clear and the ways that we have offered to think about how we might proceed forward. So in that regard, those are the hard choices that need to be made.MS. PSAKI: The final question will be from Jo Biddle of AFP.QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I actually want to turn to Iran. This week, the Guardian Council authored a list of 80 candidates who are permitted to stand in the June 14th presidential elections. After initially barring all 30 women candidates, they’ve also ruled out several moderates, including former-President Rafsanjani and only allowed a hand-picked that served so loyal to the Supreme Leader to stand. While it isn’t – obviously not up to the U.S. to choose who should stand in the Iranian elections, does this hand-picked slate of candidates represent a fair and free choice for all the people of Iran across a broad spectrum of Iranian society? And how concerned are you that the leadership which emerges from the vote will actually toughen Iran’s stand on its nuclear program? Thank you.SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I can’t think of anybody in the world looking at Iran’s election who wouldn’t be amazed by a process by which an unelected Guardian Council, which is unaccountable to the Iranian people, has actually disqualified hundreds of candidates, potential candidates, according to very vague criteria, which the Iranian people are not privileged to know or judge by. The council narrowed a list of almost 700 potential candidates down to the sort of officials of their choice based solely on who represents the regime’s interests, obviously, rather than who might represent some different point of view among the Iranian people. That is hardly an election by standards which most people in most countries judge free, fair, open, accessible, accountable elections. The lack of transparency obviously makes it highly unlikely that that slate of candidates is either going to represent the broad will of the Iranian people or represent a change of any legitimate kind.

So in addition to that, there are some troubling signs that Iranian Government is now taking steps to slow down or even cut off internet access, which is the process by which people can take part in the sharing of information and the exchange of ideas in an election. So ultimately, the Iranian people will be prevented not only from choosing someone who might have reflected their point of view, but also taking part in a way that is essential to any kind of legitimate democracy.

So we’ll have to see what develops, but it’s our hope still that the Supreme Leader and the Iranian leadership will come to the table in a serious way with a serious offer in order to prove that their nuclear program, which they profess is peaceful, is indeed peaceful. And I would reiterate – and I’ve said this before, and now it is almost a month or so even later – the clock is clearly ticking. And even today there are reports from the IAEA of its dissatisfaction with its access, and we know of the continued efforts of Iranian development of its program.

So this is an issue which is very, very much on our radar screen. We think about it and look at it every single day, take stock of it on a regular basis, and our hope is, for the sake of the region, the world, the Iranian people, ourselves, that we can have a peaceful resolution. But it is going to have to be demonstrated much more affirmatively than it has been to date that Iran is interested in that kind of a solution and that they are, indeed, prepared to prove that their program is peaceful.

I will repeat what I’ve said previously: Notwithstanding my criticism that I just made of the election process, the President of the United States has from day one said that he is open to trying to work towards a relationship with Iran that sees them rejoin the community of nations, lift sanctions, move to participation in international organizations, and assume a role like other nations that is responsible and accountable to the rule of law that we live by in the international community. That is the preferred hope of the American people and I think people in the world.

The Iranian leadership needs to make its decisions whether or not it wants to go down that road or the alternative. And the alternative is obviously one that none of us are looking for or want to contemplate. But the President has made it clear it is not one that he shies away from, if that is the only option that is left to him.

U.S. Army Spcs. Andrew Landish and Tyrel Fishe prepare to launch a mortar in the Hesarak village of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, May 14, 2013. Landish and Fishe are assigned to 101st Airborne Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment. They communicate by radio with ground forces to coordinate precision attacks on emery forces. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Vang Seng Thao

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 24, 2013 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator and two other insurgents during an operation in the Dand district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator is a vital member of improvised explosive device networks in Kandahar City. He procures and distributes IED-making materials, weapons and other military equipment for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.In other Afghanistan news today:

-- Combined forces confirmed yesterday's arrest of a Taliban facilitator in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province. The facilitator exercises command and control over a group of fighters responsible for attacks on Afghan and coalition forces. He also uses his residence as a storage facility for military equipment and coordinates the acquisition of weapons for use in insurgent activities.

-- Combined forces confirmed the death of two senior Haqqani leaders, Qari Azzam and Mukhlis, during a May 21 operation in the Zurmat district of Paktiya province. Azzam, also known as Maulawi Sahib, served as an intelligence operative responsible for providing information to senior Haqqani leadership about attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He was also involved in coordinating mine and IED emplacement in the local area, providing military equipment to insurgents and organizing kidnappings in order to extort money. Mukhlis, also known as Wazir, planned and participated in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also interfaced directly with senior Haqqani leadership to relay strategic guidance to insurgent fighters.

And yesterday, Provincial Response Company Logar, enabled by coalition forces, seized a large cache of explosives-making materials during a cordon-and-search mission in the Pul-e Alam district of Logar province. The cache consisted of one IED, 374 pounds of ammonium nitrate and 110 pounds of phosphorous fertilizer. All seized materials were destroyed on location.

Friday, May 24, 2013

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Delineates Counterterrorism Policy
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 - President Barack Obama spoke today on U.S. counterterrorism policy and looked at how the United States can defend itself from terrorism, yet remain true to core beliefs.
The president's speech at the National Defense University on Fort Lesley J. McNair here took a broad view of counterterrorism efforts. Obama reviewed what has taken place since September 11, 2001, and how the counterterrorism effort has changed.

In 2001, Al-Qaida was the threat. It was that organization, led by Osama bin Laden, that planned and executed the attacks that killed 3,000 people on 9/11. "Now the core of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat," the president said.

The United States has relentlessly pursued al-Qaida's senior leadership and the threat of a 9/11-scale attack is greatly reduced, he said.

At the same time the threat has morphed. Al-Qaida affiliates – notably those in North Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula – remain threats to the American homeland. Threats have grown following the unrest in the Arab world, although those are mostly local or regionally based.

Finally, there is a threat from homegrown extremists like those who are alleged to be responsible for the bombing in Boston.

Attacks like those from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, like those against our embassy in Benghazi and like those in Boston represent the future of the threats we face from terrorism, the president said.

"We must recognize, however, that the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11," he said. "With a decade of experience to draw from, now is the time to ask ourselves hard questions – about the nature of today's threats, and how we should confront them."

Since 9/11, the United States has spent well over a trillion dollars on war. "Our service members and their families have sacrificed far more on our behalf," he said. "Nearly 7,000 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice. Many more have left a part of themselves on the battlefield, or brought the shadows of battle back home. From our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions we are making will define the type of nation – and world – that we leave to our children."

No one can promise the total defeat of terror. There will always be people misguided enough to resort to attacks on society, the president said. "What we can do – what we must do – is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger, and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend," Obama said. "To define that strategy, we must make decisions based not on fear, but hard-earned wisdom."

The threats do not arise in a vacuum, the president said. There is the belief in many parts of the world that Islam is in conflict with the United States and the West, and that violence against Western targets is justified in pursuit of a larger cause. "Of course, this ideology is based on a lie, for the United States is not at war with Islam; and this ideology is rejected by the vast majority of Muslims, who are the most frequent victims of terrorist acts," Obama said.

The ideology persists, however, and all parts of the U.S. government must work to counter it, he said.

The United States must continue to defeat al-Qaida and its associated forces, the president said. In Afghanistan, U.S. forces will follow the NATO plan and continue training Afghan security forces up to the end of NATO combat operations there at the end of next year, Obama said.

"Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' – but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America," he said. Most of these will be done in partnership with other nations, he said, specifically mentioning Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

The United States will continue to cooperate with other nations and share counterterrorism intelligence with these nations, he emphasized, butwill not be afraid to work alone when the situation calls for it.

Al-Qaida looks for ungoverned areas to set up and plan, he noted. "In some of these places ... the state has only the most tenuous reach into the territory," Obama said. "In other cases, the state lacks the capacity or will to take action."

In cases when using American troops in these places isn't possible and lethal action is needed, he said, "The United States has taken lethal, targeted action against al-Qaida and its associated forces, including with remotely piloted aircraft commonly referred to as drones."

The technology raises profound questions about targeting, civilian casualties and the risks of creating new enemies, he said, but Obama maintained the strikes strikes have been effective and are legal nationally and internationally. "Simply put, these strikes have saved lives," he said.

Beyond Afghanistan, the United States only targets al-Qaida and its associated forces, the president said.

"America does not make strikes when we have the ability to capture individual terrorists - our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute them," Obama said. "America cannot take strikes wherever we choose – our actions are bound by consultations with partners, and respect for state sovereignty. America does not take strikes to punish individuals – we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people, and when there are no other governments capable of effectively addressing the threat. And before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured – the highest standard we can set."

The president insists on strong oversight of all lethal action. "After I took office, my administration began briefing all strikes outside of Iraq and Afghanistan to the appropriate committees of Congress," he said. "Let me repeat that – not only did Congress authorize the use of force, it is briefed on every strike that America takes."

The use of force must be part of a larger discussion about a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, he said, adding that. force alone cannot make America safe.

"We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root; and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the well-spring of extremism, a perpetual war – through drones or Special Forces or troop deployments – will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways," the president said.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Situation in Lebanon
Press Statement
Patrick Ventrell
Acting Deputy Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 24, 2013
The United States is deeply concerned about the situation in Lebanon. The latest clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, in which at least 23 people have been killed, constitute a stark reminder that the conflict in Syria poses an increasingly dangerous threat to Lebanon’s stability and security.

The United States fully supports Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty and welcomes efforts by Lebanon’s leaders to take all necessary steps to put an end to the violence in Tripoli. We strongly support the Lebanese Armed Forces’ and Internal Security Forces’ efforts to stop the fighting in Tripoli and fully restore calm across the country. We call on all parties to do their part to restore calm, act with restraint, and respect Lebanon’s stability and security.

The United States supports the principles of the 2012 Baabda Declaration and Lebanon’s dissociation policy with respect to the crisis in Syria. We call on all parties in the region to avoid any actions that would exacerbate that crisis, increase the propensity for spillover violence, and negatively affect civilian populations. Hizballah leaders’ decision to escalate the group’s role in the fighting in Syria violates and undermines Lebanon’s dissociation policy and risks dragging Lebanon into a foreign conflict, to the detriment of the interests of the Lebanese people.

May 22nd, 2013U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met today with Minister of Interior (MVD) of the Russian Federation Vladimir Alexandrovich Kolokoltsev. During the meeting, Attorney General Holder thanked Minister Kolokoltsev for the assistance by the Russian government relating to the investigation into the terror attack in Boston. They also discussed law enforcement cooperation between the two countries in areas including counterterrorism, transnational organized crime and child pornography. Both Holder and Kolokolstev agreed to continue to strengthen their law enforcement partnership against these shared challenges.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Vows to Close Guantanamo Detention Facility
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 - President Barack Obama today vowed to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the prison has become a symbol of an America that flouts the law.
Obama spoke at the National Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair here. His discussion on the Gitmo facility was part of a larger discussion on counterterrorism policy.

The original premise for opening the detention center at Guantanamo was that detainees would not be able to challenge their detention, he noted during his remarks, but added the Supreme Court found that unconstitutional five years ago.

"In the meantime, Gitmo has become a symbol around the world for an America that flouts the rule of law," the president said. "Our allies won't cooperate with us if they think a terrorist will end up at Gitmo. During a time of budget cuts, we spend $150 million each year to imprison 166 people –almost $1 million per prisoner. And the Department of Defense estimates that we must spend another $200 million to keep Gitmo open at a time when we are cutting investments in education and research here at home."

Obama has tried to close the facility and transferred 67 detainees to other countries before Congress stopped the process, he noted. "These restrictions make no sense," he said.

Obama said he believes these detainees can be held in U.S. prisons and prosecuted in U.S. courts. "No person has ever escaped from one of our super-max or military prisons in the United States," he said. "Our courts have convicted hundreds of people for terrorism-related offenses, including some who are more dangerous than most Gitmo detainees."

The president called on Congress to lift the restrictions on detainee transfers from the facility.

"I have tasked the Department of Defense to designate a site in the United States where we can hold military commissions," he said. "I am appointing a new, senior envoy at the State Department and Defense Department whose sole responsibility will be to achieve the transfer of detainees to third countries. I am lifting the moratorium on detainee transfers to Yemen, so we can review them on a case-by-case basis. To the greatest extent possible, we will transfer detainees who have been cleared to go to other countries. Where appropriate, we will bring terrorists to justice in our courts and military justice system. And we will insist that judicial review be available for every detainee."

There will still be detainees who have participated in attacks on Americans who cannot be prosecuted due to tainted evidence, Obama noted. "But once we commit to a process of closing Gitmo, I am confident that this legacy problem can be resolved, consistent with our commitment to the rule of law," he said.

The president was interrupted several times by a heckler who yelled that the president should close the facility now. He said her voice needed to be heard.

Obama asked if Guantanamo is the kind of legacy America wants or deserves. "Is that who we are? Is that something that our founders foresaw? Is that the America we want to leave to our children?" he asked. "Our sense of justice is stronger than that."

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 23, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force in Baghlan province's Baghlan-e Jadid district arrested six insurgents today during a search for a Taliban facilitator, military officials reported.

The facilitator controls a group responsible for attacks on Afghan and coalition forces, stores insurgents' equipment in his home and coordinates the acquisition of weapons.

Also today, a combined force in Helmand province's Nahr-e Saraj district arrested an insurgent during a search for a Taliban leader who directs and executes attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also procures and distributes bomb-making materials to insurgents and serves as an intelligence operative for senior Taliban leadership.In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined force in Paktia province's Sayyid Karam district killed three insurgents during a search for a senior Haqqani network leader involved with improvised explosive device attacks. He also coordinates insurgent movements and attacks, provides information to senior Haqqani leaders and facilitates the movement of IEDs, weapons and money into the area.

-- Provincial Response Company Logar, enabled by coalition forces, seized and destroyed an IED and almost 500 pounds of ingredients for homemade explosives in Logar province's Pul-e Alam district.In May 21 operations:

-- Afghan soldiers, along with uniformed and local police, destroyed 20 IEDs during a checkpoint emplacement operation in Helmand province's Nahr-e-Saraj district.

-- Two senior Haqqani network leaders were killed during an operation in Paktia province's Zurmat district. One, an intelligence operative, also was involved in coordinating mine and IED placements, providing equipment to insurgents and organizing kidnappings for ransom. The other deceased insurgent leader planned and participated in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, and relayed strategic guidance to insurgents from senior Haqqani leaders.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Statement from Secretary Kerry on President Obama's Speech
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
May 23, 2013
Today President Obama laid out a clear vision to help ensure that we are meeting the ever-evolving threats to our national security at home and abroad. The struggle against extremism has evolved enormously in the nearly 12 years since 9/11 and so too must our defenses, but the danger is not new.

We fly our flag high because we are a symbol of hope to people everywhere, but that too has been a target for those who know only hate. The memorial wall in the lobby of the State Department is a sober, solemn, and daily reminder of our duty to protect the people who have taken up the mantle of promoting peace in sometimes-dangerous lands. On my first day as Secretary, a suicide bomber attacked our embassy in Ankara killing a local guard, and of course, last September we lost Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave Americans who were forcing light in the darkness. But still, for our mission to succeed, we cannot retreat behind higher walls.

Diplomacy and security are not at cross purposes. Our flag must continue to fly because we show up in the places where others won’t go. We will not back down in the face of violent extremism – because perseverance is in our diplomatic DNA. Building people to people relationships is in our national interest because it means we can solve problems before they turn into ‘boots on the ground’ crises. As we build trust, it will be necessary to make clear our criteria for deploying drones overseas and to finish the work of closing the Guantanamo detention center. These are vital objectives in showing the world that we are who we say we are.

Charles Kokesh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida, for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act by selling two African elephant tusks and for making false accounts of wildlife related to that sale, the Justice Department announced today.
The three count indictment returned yesterday alleges that Kokesh legally imported a sport-hunted African elephant trophy mount from Namibia, but thereafter illegally sold the two tusks, from New Mexico to a buyer in Florida. The sale price was approximately $8,100, to be paid in a combination of currency and guns. After the sale, Kokesh allegedly falsely described that sale, in an email to personnel at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as a shipment to an appraiser in anticipation of a donation to a non-profit entity. Kokesh similarly falsely accounted for the location and disposition of the tusks in subsequent correspondence. Each false account and record is charged under the Lacey Act.

African elephants are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Both the United States and Namibia are signatories to CITES. African elephant populations in Namibia are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which includes species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is strictly regulated. Since 2000, the Namibian African elephant listing has specified that the species cannot be used for commercial purposes.

The United States implements CITES through the Endangered Species Act and regulations issued thereunder. To implement the CITES prohibition against commercial use of African elephant specimens, regulations issued under the Endangered Species Act proscribe the commercial use, including sale, of sport-hunted African elephant trophies, even if the trophies are legally hunted and imported.

According to a recent report produced by CITES and partner organizations, entitled "Elephants in the Dust –The African Elephant Crisis," populations of elephants in Africa are under severe threat as the illegal trade in ivory grows – with the number of elephants killed doubling and the amount of ivory seized tripling over the last decade. An estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 to feed the illegal trade.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The maximum penalty for the charged violation of the Endangered Species Act is up to six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

This image of the storm system that generated the F-4 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma was taken by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard one of the Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. The image was captured on May 20, 2013, at 19:40 UTC (2:40 p.m. CDT) as the tornado began its deadly swath.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Pacific Commander: U.S., China Can Build on Common Ground
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, May 22, 2013 - The United States and China, by increasing their dialogue and engagement, can build a foundation of trust while fostering regional security and prosperity, the top U.S. commander in the region said yesterday.

"While competition between the United States and China is inevitable, conflict is not," Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told members of the National Committee for U.S. China Relations in New York.

"This means identifying strategic areas where our two countries can cooperate, while recognizing frankly and openly the areas where we will continue to differ, and to manage those," he said. "Our approach is to manage the friction and disruptive competition and increase areas of congruence and cooperation between our two nations."

Locklear encouraged the China experts to envision a future in which "the U.S. and China collaborate to build upon an existing Indo-Asia-Pacific community of peace and prosperity."

Reaching that goal, he said, requires recognizing, understanding and managing areas of divergence that could disrupt the security environment. These range from China's concerns that the U.S. strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific region is designed to contain China's rise to differences in how the two countries view the maritime global commons and the lack of common ground on behavior in cyberspace.

Locklear emphasized that the rebalance is a whole-of-government strategy, recognizing that "the United States' success in the 21st century will, to a large extent, depend on what happens in this critically important region of the world."

Based on a strategy of collaboration and cooperation, the rebalance acknowledges the reality that the United States' future is "inextricably linked" to Asia's, he said. And one of the fundamental goals in implementing it is to build a "stable, productive and constructive relationship with China," he added.

Despite many areas of divergence between the two countries, Locklear said, he believes they're outweighed by areas where the United States and China share common interests.

"First, it is my belief that neither of our two nations desire conflict, especially armed conflict," he said.

But both countries must also recognize the major roles they both play in the region, he said. "The Pacific is big enough for all of us," Locklear told the group, borrowing a quote from both former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the United States' and China's economic relationship -- one that Locklear said draws them together and positively affects the entire region.

The admiral noted other promising developments that are solidifying this foundation: China's growing participation in the international community, its commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and its efforts to address HIV/AIDS and pandemic diseases, among them.

Meanwhile, China is demonstrating "a real appetite to deepen the military-to-military dialogue and build on those areas on which we converge," Locklear said. The goal, he said, is to continually improve the channels of communication and to demonstrate practical cooperation on issues that matter to both sides.

Gen. Fang Fenghu, China's top military officer, identified counterterrorism, antipiracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, logistics and military medicine as potential areas of cooperation during a visit to Beijing by Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Looking to the future, Locklear said, it's vital that both China and the United States recognize their responsibilities as regional and global leaders.

"We must move beyond our individual differences to bring consensus to issues that threaten regional stability and future prosperity," he said. That includes partnering with other nations to address regional security challenges such as piracy, terrorism, proliferation and pandemic disease.

Secondly, he said, the two countries must work together and with the international community to ensure access to the shared domains through universally accepted standards. This extends from the maritime domain -- and territorial disputes in the South China and East China Seas -- to the cyber and space domains, where they can play a role in helping to establish worldwide standards and practices, he said.

Also key, Locklear said, is China's increasing participation in regional military-to-military engagements. He cited progress in the Military Maritime Consultative Meeting and other forums, and China's agreement to take part in the next Rim of the Pacific international maritime exercise.

These engagements help to build trust and mutual understanding and, ultimately, reduce the likelihood of miscommunication and miscalculation that could derail forward progress, Locklear said.

"I believe the best hope for sustained bilateral cooperation will come from strategically identifying those areas where our interests overlap and building, over time, greater understanding and trust between our two armed forces," the admiral said.

As seen through a night-vision device, U.S. soldiers prepare their equipment for a night air assault operation from Forward Operating Base Connolly, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, May 14, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Vang Seng Thao.

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 22, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader and four other insurgents in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Afghanistan's Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The leader plans, directs and executes attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also is instrumental in producing and planting improvised explosive devices and conducts reconnaissance and intelligence gathering for local insurgents.

Also today, a combined force in Wardak province's Sayyidabad district arrested two insurgents during a search for a senior Taliban leader who controls about 70 insurgents responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also oversees weapons trafficking and reports on insurgent operations to higher-ranking Taliban officials. The security force also seized an assault rifle and ammunition.In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined force in Paktia province's Zurmat district killed four insurgents during a search for a senior Haqqani network intelligence operative. He also coordinates placement of mines and IEDs, provides equipment to insurgents and organizes kidnappings for ransom.

-- Afghan local police and coalition forces found and destroyed an explosives laboratory in Logar province's Baraki Barak district. The lab contained more than 150 pounds of ingredients for homemade explosives, several hand grenades and two rocket-propelled grenade warheads.

Statement from Secretary Duncan on Preventing Student Loan Interest Rates from Doubling on July 1

Our priority is to ensure that Congress doesn't allow federal student loan interest rates to double on July 1. President Obama has put forward a comprehensive solution that will help middle-class students and their families afford college by lowering interest rates on July 1, without adding to the deficit, and Senator Harkin and Congressman Miller have also been leaders within Congress to prevent rates from doubling for students and families.
While we welcome action by the House on student loans, we have concerns about its current approach, which does not guarantee low rates for students on July 1, makes students bear the burden of deficit reduction, and fails to lock in interest rates when students take out a loan – so their rates could escalate in the future.

Now is not the time to double interest rates on student loans, and we remain committed to working with Congress on a bipartisan approach to a long-term, fiscally sustainable solution that will help students and families afford higher education now and in the future. Given the impending July 1 deadline, an extension that protects students against higher rates while Congress develops an alternative solution is another reasonable option.

Both the President and I firmly believe college should not be reserved only for the wealthy. All of us share responsibility for making college affordable and keeping the middle-class dream alive. There is no excuse if Congress fails to come to an agreement that prevents rates from rising suddenly in July, and we look forward to working with members of both parties to reach a solution.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Benghazi Accountability Review Board Implementation
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 20, 2013Following the September 11, 2012 attack on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the independent Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB) issued 29 recommendations (24 of which were unclassified) to the Department of State. The Department accepted each of the ARB’s recommendations and is committed to implementing them. This will require fundamentally reforming the organization in critical ways. While risk can never be completely eliminated from our diplomatic duties, we must always work to minimize it. A brief summary of the Department’s actions on the 24 unclassified recommendations is as follows:Unclassified Recommendations of the ARB (Text abridged) and Department ActionsOVERARCHING SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

1. The Department must strengthen security for personnel and platforms beyond traditional reliance on host government security support in high risk, high threat posts.
The Department established a High Threat Board to review our presence at High Threat, High Risk posts; the Board will review these posts every 6 months.
We created a Deputy Assistant Secretary for High Threat Posts in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), who is responsible for ensuring that such posts receive the focused attention they need.
2. The Board recommends that the Department re-examine DS organization and management, with a particular emphasis on span of control for security policy planning for all overseas U.S. diplomatic facilities.
The Department established a six-person panel to thoroughly review DS’s organization and management structure; the panel has developed draft findings.
3. Regional bureaus should have augmented support within the bureau on security matters, to include a senior DS officer to report to the regional Assistant Secretary.
DS staff attend regular Regional Bureau meetings, and Regional Bureau staff attend DS daily briefings to better communicate on security issues.
The Department has adjusted the work requirements (position descriptions) for senior level staff (Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Assistant Secretaries) to reflect everyone’s responsibility for overseas security.
4. The Department should establish a panel of outside independent experts (military, security, humanitarian) with experience in high risk, high threat areas to identify best practices (from other agencies and other countries), and evaluate U.S. security platforms in high risk, high threat posts.
The Department established a six-person panel to identify best practices used by other agencies and countries; this panel’s work is expected to be complete by late summer.
5. The Department should develop minimum security standards for occupancy of temporary facilities in high risk, high threat environments, and seek greater flexibility to make funds rapidly available for security upgrades at such facilities.
The Department has re-affirmed that Overseas Security Policy Board Standards apply to temporary facilities.
We identified flexible funding authorities to make improvements to our overseas facilities.
6. Before opening or re-opening critical threat or high risk, high threat posts, the Department should establish a multi-bureau support cell, residing in the regional bureau.
The Department developed standard operating procedures for "Support Cells" for opened/reopened posts. The process is being incorporated into the Foreign Affairs Handbook.
7. All State Department and other government agencies’ facilities should be collocated when they are in the same metropolitan area, unless a waiver has been approved.
We verified all data on our overseas facilities; we are exploring which non-collocated facilities can be eliminated and their personnel relocated.
8. The Secretary should require an action plan from DS, OBO, and other relevant offices on the use of fire as a weapon against diplomatic facilities, including immediate steps to deal with urgent issues.
The Department issued guidance to all posts on "weapons of opportunity."
Fire testing is ongoing at U.S. military facilities.
9. The Department should revise its guidance to posts and require key offices to perform in-depth status checks of post tripwires.
The Department reviewed and revised requirements for posts on how to respond to changing security benchmarks (i.e., "tripwires").
The Department established a Washington-based "Tripwires Committee" to review tripwires upon breach, to help ensure that posts and regional bureaus in Washington respond more quickly should security deteriorate at post.
10. The State Department must work with Congress to restore the Capital Security Cost Sharing Program [for embassy construction] at its full capacity, adjusted for inflation to approximately $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2015.
The FY14 President's Budget included a request for $2.2 billion in the Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance account.
11. The Board supports the State Department’s initiative to request additional Marines and expand the Marine Security Guard (MSG) Program – as well as corresponding requirements for staffing and funding.
Along with the Congress and Department of Defense, we are working to increase the number of Marine Security Guards at U.S. diplomatic facilities, and have requested (and received) more resources to build facilities at additional posts to host Marine Security Guards in the future. STAFFING HIGH RISK, HIGH THREAT POSTS

12. The Board strongly endorses the Department’s request for increased DS personnel for high- and critical-threat posts and for additional Mobile Security Deployment teams, as well as an increase in DS domestic staffing in support of such action.
With Congressional support, the Department is creating 151 new Diplomatic Security positions -- 113 are expected to be hired this fiscal year. The remainder will be hired in FY14.
13. The Department should assign key policy, program, and security personnel at high risk, high threat posts for a minimum of one year. For less critical personnel, the temporary duty length (TDY) length should be no less than 120 days.
All high threat posts now have a minimum of a one-year tour of duty. We are planning to ensure overlap between incumbent and incoming positions to facilitate continuity of operations at high threat posts.
Temporary duty assignments are set at a minimum of 120 days.
14. The Department needs to review the staffing footprints at high risk, high threat posts, with particular attention to ensuring adequate Locally Employed Staff (LES) and management support. High risk, high threat posts must be funded and the human resources process prioritized to hire LES interpreters and translators.
The Department surveyed every post to review the numbers of interpreters and translators on staff, and found that there was adequate staffing.
15. With increased and more complex diplomatic activities in the Middle East, the Department should enhance its ongoing efforts to significantly upgrade its language capacity, especially Arabic, among American employees, including DS, and receive greater resources to do so.
The Department is ramping up the language capacity of its American employees, including Diplomatic Security agents, especially in Arabic. Increasing language capacity takes time – certain languages take up to 2 years to learn. In the short term, the Department is committed to better equipping the growing cadre of security experts to engage local populations and cooperate with host nation security forces. TRAINING AND AWARENESS

16. A panel of Senior Special Agents and Supervisory Special Agents should revisit DS high-threat training with respect to active internal defense and fire survival as well as Chief of Mission protective detail training.
The Department established a panel of Supervisory Special Agents to participate in a Program Review of the High Threat Tactical Course; as a result, DS revised high-threat training and COM protective detail training and raised standards for passing the High Threat Tactical Course. DS and the Foreign Service Institute are currently revising the curriculum.
DS is pursuing a high-threat training strategy that will incorporate elements of this training across the full spectrum of courses required for DS special agents throughout their careers.
17. The Diplomatic Security Training Center and Foreign Service Institute should collaborate in designing joint courses that integrate high threat training and risk management decision processes for senior and mid-level DS agents and Foreign Service Officers and better prepare them for leadership positions in high risk, high threat posts.
The Department has enhanced security training efforts, including by requiring personnel headed to high threat posts to receive additional, specialized security training. SECURITY AND FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT

18. The Department should ensure provision of adequate fire safety and security equipment for safe havens and safe areas in non-Inman/SECCA facilities, as well as high threat Inman facilities.
The Department has surveyed fire and life safety equipment requirements abroad and is now upgrading this equipment, to include enhanced fire safety equipment and personal protective equipment, at all high-threat, high-risk U.S. diplomatic posts abroad.
19. There have been technological advancements in non-lethal deterrents, and the State Department should ensure it rapidly and routinely identifies and procures additional options for non-lethal deterrents in high risk, high threat posts and trains personnel on their use.
The Department has addressed this recommendation.
20. DS should upgrade surveillance cameras at high risk, high threat posts for greater resolution, nighttime visibility, and monitoring capability beyond post.
Over the next year the Department will have upgraded high-threat, high-risk facilities with more modern surveillance cameras that feature greater resolution and monitoring capability at all times of day. INTELLIGENCE AND THREAT ANALYSIS

21. Careful attention should be given to factors showing a deteriorating threat situation in general as a basis for improving security posture. Key trends must be quickly identified and used to sharpen risk calculations.
The Department has addressed this recommendation.
22. The DS Office of Intelligence and Threat Analysis should report directly to the DS Assistant Secretary and directly supply threat analysis to all DS components, regional Assistant Secretaries, and Chiefs of Mission in order to get key security-related threat information into the right hands more rapidly.
The DS Office of Intelligence and Threat Analysis, now reports directly to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security for threat reporting and supplies threat analysis to regional Assistant Secretaries and Chiefs of Mission. PERSONNEL ACCOUNTABILITY

23. The Board is of the view that findings of unsatisfactory leadership performance by senior officials in relation to the security incident under review should be a potential basis for discipline recommendations by future ARBs, and would recommend a revision of Department regulations or amendment to the relevant statute to this end.
The Department is working with Congress to increase accountability. In January, the Department proposed legislation to grant future ARBs the authority to recommend disciplinary action on the basis of unsatisfactory leadership, and thus increase accountability for security incidents.
24. The Board was humbled by the courage and integrity shown by those on the ground in Benghazi and Tripoli, in particular the DS agents and Annex team who defended their colleagues… We trust that the Department and relevant agencies will take the opportunity to recognize their exceptional valor and performance, which epitomized the highest ideals of government service.
The President and the Secretary of State have publically mentioned the bravery and heroic efforts of our personnel on numerous occasions.
The Department bestowed the Holbrooke award on Ambassador Chris Stevens; the Thomas Jefferson award to the personnel who gave their lives in September; the Secretary’s award to one officer who was seriously injured; and the Secretary's Heroism Award to 12 personnel who defended the Benghazi facilities.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Scientists Discover Oldest Evidence of Split Between Old World Monkeys and Apes
Two fossil discoveries from the East African Rift reveal new information about the evolution of primates, according to a paper published this week in the journal Nature.

Findings by scientists at Ohio University's (OU) Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and colleagues document the oldest fossils of two major groups of primates: the group that today includes apes and humans (hominoids) and the group that includes Old World monkeys such as baboons and macaques (cercopithecoids).

The research, funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), underscores the integration of paleontological and geological approaches that are essential for deciphering complex relationships in vertebrate evolutionary history, the scientists said.

Geological analyses of the study site indicate that the finds are 25 million years old, significantly older than fossils previously documented for either of the two groups.

Both fossil discoveries uncovered primate species newly recognized by scientists. The fossils were collected from a single site in the Rukwa Rift Basin of Tanzania.Rukwapithecus fleaglei is an early hominoid represented by a fossil mandible in which several teeth were preserved. Nsungwepithecus gunnelli is an early cercopithecoid represented by a tooth and jaw fragment.

The primates lived during the Oligocene epoch, which lasted from 34 to 23 million years ago. The research documents that the two lineages were already evolving separately during this geologic period.

"The late Oligocene is among the least sampled intervals in primate evolutionary history, and the Rukwa field area provides a first glimpse of the animals that were alive at that time from Africa south of the equator," said Nancy Stevens, Ohio University paleontologist and first author of the paper.

Co-authors are Patrick O'Connor, Cornelia Krause and Eric Gorscak of Ohio University; Erik Seiffert of SUNY Stony Brook University; Eric Roberts of James Cook University in Australia; Mark Schmitz of Boise State University; Sifa Ngasala of Michigan State University; Tobin Hieronymus of Northeast Ohio Medical University and Joseph Temu of the Tanzania Antiquities Unit.

Documenting the early evolutionary history of these groups has been elusive, as there are few fossil-bearing deposits of the appropriate age, Stevens said.

"Finding monkey and ape fossils of this age in Africa has been extremely difficult, but to find both branches in a well-dated fossil layer this old is extraordinary," said Paul Filmer, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

"These 'oldest-yet' fossils reinforce that the Old World monkey and ape branches were already separate 25 million years ago."

Using an approach that dated multiple minerals in the rocks, geologists could determine a precise age for the specimens.

"The rift setting provides an advantage in that it preserves datable materials together with these important primate fossils," said Roberts.

Prior to these finds, the oldest fossil representatives of the hominoid and cercopithecoid lineages were recorded from the early Miocene, at sites dating millions of years younger.

"The Nsungwe Formation of Tanzania is a unique site, both geographically and chronologically, with excellent potential to yield important fossils from a vitally important time period and biogeographic area of Africa," said Carolyn Ehardt, NSF program director for biological anthropology.

"To have described two highly distinctive and completely new primates, one designated the oldest known fossil 'ape' and the other the oldest 'stem' member of the Old World monkey clade, is remarkable."

The new discoveries are particularly important for helping reconcile a long-standing disagreement between divergence time estimates derived from analyses of DNA sequences from living primates versus those suggested by the primate fossil record, Stevens said.

Studies of clock-like mutations in primate DNA have indicated that the split between apes and Old World monkeys occurred between 30 million and 25 million years ago.

"Fossils from the Rukwa Rift Basin in southwestern Tanzania provide the first real test of the hypothesis that these groups diverged so early, by revealing a novel glimpse into this late Oligocene terrestrial ecosystem," Stevens said.

The new fossils are the first primate discoveries from this precise location in the Rukwa deposits, and represent two of only a handful of known primate species from the entire late Oligocene, globally.

The scientists scanned the specimens in OU's MicroCT scanner, allowing them to create detailed three-dimensional reconstructions of the ancient specimens. The reconstructions were used for comparisons with other fossils.

"This is another great example of how modern imaging and computational approaches allow us to address more refined questions about vertebrate evolutionary history," said O'Connor.

In addition to unveiling these newly discovered primates, the Rukwa field sites have produced several other fossil vertebrate and invertebrate species new to science.

The late Oligocene interval is interesting because it provides a final snapshot of the unique species inhabiting Africa prior to the large-scale faunal exchange with Eurasia that occurred later in the Cenozoic Era, Stevens said.

A key aspect of the Rukwa Rift Basin project, she said, is the interdisciplinary nature of the research team, with paleontologists and geologists working together to reconstruct vertebrate evolutionary history in the context of the developing East African Rift System.

"Since its inception, the project has employed a multi-faceted approach to addressing a series of large-scale biological and geological questions centered on the East African Rift System in Tanzania," O'Connor said.

The research was also funded by the Leakey Foundation and the National Geographic Society.

NORTH SEA WITH BLOOMING PHYTOPLANKTON

Despite its cold waters and harsh winds, the North Sea is a fertile basin for phytoplankton blooms. The drifting, plantlike organisms tend to be most abundant in late spring and early summer due to high levels of nutrients in the water and increasing sunlight. The intense winds blowing over the relatively shallow North Sea causes a lot of vertical and horizontal mixing that brings nutrients to the surface, as does runoff from European rivers. This image, acquired on June 11, 2015, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows a mass of phytoplankton blooming between Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Germany. As compared to a June 6 image showing a different stage of the bloom cycle, areas of concentrated phytoplankton are smaller and most have the milky color characteristic of coccolithophores; there are few to no green areas. The change could be due to the short life span of phytoplankton—two to six days—and differences between the species. Some outlast others because of their ability to survive at lower nutrient levels. Some researchers have found that numbers of plankton can actually begin to increase in the middle of winter, when growth conditions would seem to be at their worst. Studies suggest that winter storms churn the ocean and cause deep water mixing. This water mixing allows for phytoplankton to grow and live at depth without being spotted by their predators. When spring arrives, phytoplankton can fully bloom because not only are the nutrients available, but there is a longer period of sunlight. Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using data from the Level 1 and Atmospheres Active Distribution System (LAADS). Caption: Rachel Carlowicz with Mike Carlowicz

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WATCHING YOUNG STARS SPARKLE

While fireworks only last a short time here on Earth, a bundle of cosmic sparklers in a nearby cluster of stars will be going off for a very long time. NGC 1333 is a star cluster populated with many young stars that are less than 2 million years old, a blink of an eye in astronomical terms for stars like the Sun expected to burn for billions of years. To make a detailed study of the X-ray properties of young stars, a team of astronomers, led by Elaine Winston from the University of Exeter, analyzed both the Chandra X-ray data of NGC 1333, located about 780 light years from Earth, and of the Serpens cloud, a similar cluster of young stars about 1100 light years away. They then compared the two datasets with observations of the young stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster, perhaps the most-studied young star cluster in the Galaxy.The researchers found that the X-ray brightness of the stars in NGC 1333 and the Serpens cloud depends on the total brightness of the stars across the electromagnetic spectrum, as found in previous studies of other clusters. They also found that the X-ray brightness mainly depends on the size of the star. In other words, the bigger the stellar sparkler, the brighter it will glow in X-rays. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Wolk et al; Optical: DSS & NOAO/AURA/NSF; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

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ARTIST GRAPHIC OF PLUTO'S OCCULATION

The Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that makes celestial observations with its German-built 100-inch telescope. The telescope is enhanced to collect infrared radiation, and is able to detect energy at a wider range of wavelengths than any other ground-based or space telescope. SOFIA can fly anywhere in the world, and operates at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, putting the observatory above more than 99 percent of Earth's atmospheric water vapor that blocks infrared radiation from celestial objects. SOFIA is flying out of Christchurch, New Zealand, where its telescope can study celestial objects more easily observed from the Southern Hemisphere. Starting June 28 through the 29th, instruments on the plane will observe Pluto as it passes in front of a background star. Data returned from the observations will be provided to the New Horizon team who is preparing for Pluto's occultation, July 13 through the 15th. Image is an artist's conception of the Pluto occultation seen close-up, not a photo. Credits: NASA Graphic.

SHOOTING STARS IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. Astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, tweeted this image from the International Space Station in August, 2011 with the following caption: “What a `Shooting Star’ looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower.” A special camera to record meteor showers will launch to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft, currently scheduled to launch on June 28, 2015, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Meteor investigation should be installed in the station’s Window Observational Research Facility by the end of July, enabling scientists to learn more about the composition and behavior of asteroids and comets that cross paths with Earth. The investigation's camera is programmed to record known major meteor showers during its two-year orbit and could spot unpredicted showers as well. Image Credit: NASA.

SUNSET ON MARS

Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) to record the sunset during an evening of skywatching on April 15, 2015. The imaging was done between dust storms, but some dust remained suspended high in the atmosphere. The sunset observations help researchers assess the vertical distribution of dust in the atmosphere. "The colors come from the fact that the very fine dust is the right size so that blue light penetrates the atmosphere slightly more efficiently," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, the Curiosity science-team member who planned the observations. "When the blue light scatters off the dust, it stays closer to the direction of the sun than light of other colors does. The rest of the sky is yellow to orange, as yellow and red light scatter all over the sky instead of being absorbed or staying close to the sun." Just as colors are made more dramatic in sunsets on Earth, Martian sunsets make the blue near the sun's part of the sky much more prominent, while normal daylight makes the rusty color of the dust more prominent. Photo/Caption Credit: NASA.

THE U.S. FLAG ON MARS

Caption Credit: NASA. This view of the American flag medallion on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 44th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Sept. 19, 2012). The flag is one of four "mobility logos" placed on the rover's mobility rocker arms. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-MSSS.

AN IMPACT LEFT ON MARS

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars on March 30, 2015. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Fresh craters often have steep, active slopes, so the HiRISE team is monitoring this crater for changes over time. The bedrock lithology is also diverse. The crater is a little more than 1-kilometer wide. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. Caption: Alfred McEwen.

AN AURORA OF DANCING LIGHTS

NASA Caption. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photo of an aurora from the International Space Station on June 23, 2015. The dancing lights of the aurora provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun.

A NEW VIEW OF EARTH AURORAS FROM ASTRONAUT SCOTT KELLY

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly captured photographs and video of auroras from the International Space Station on June 22, 2015. Kelly wrote, "Yesterday's aurora was an impressive show from 250 miles up. Good morning from the International Space Station! ‪‎ Image Credit: NASA.

A LOOK AT GALAXY NSG 6503

Caption Credit: NASA.Most galaxies are clumped together in groups or clusters. A neighboring galaxy is never far away. But this galaxy, known as NGC 6503, has found itself in a lonely position, at the edge of a strangely empty patch of space called the Local Void. The Local Void is a huge stretch of space that is at least 150 million light-years across. It seems completely empty of stars or galaxies. The galaxy’s odd location on the edge of this never-land led stargazer Stephen James O’Meara to dub it the “Lost-In-Space galaxy” in his 2007 book, Hidden Treasures. NGC 6503 is 18 million light-years away from us in the northern circumpolar constellation of Draco. NGC 6503 spans some 30,000 light-years, about a third of the size of the Milky Way. This Hubble Space Telescope image shows NGC 6503 in striking detail and with a rich set of colors. Bright red patches of gas can be seen scattered through its swirling spiral arms, mixed with bright blue regions that contain newly forming stars. Dark brown dust lanes snake across the galaxy’s bright arms and center, giving it a mottled appearance. The Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys data for NGC 6503 were taken in April 2003, and the Wide Field Camera 3 data were taken in August 2013. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University), and the Hubble Heritage Team.

FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN FLIES INTO SPACE ON SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when the space shuttle Challenger launched on mission STS-7 from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-7 crew consisted of astronauts Robert Crippen, commander, the first two-time space shuttle astronaut; Frederick H. Hauck, pilot; and three mission specialists -- Ride, John M. Fabian and Norman E. Thagard. This high-angle view of the shuttle liftoff, showing a lengthy stretch of Florida Atlantic coastline and a number of large cumulus clouds, was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera by astronaut John W. Young, who piloted the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) for weather monitoring at launch and landing sites for STS missions. One of Sally Ride's jobs was to call out "Roll program" seven seconds after launch. "I'll guarantee that those were the hardest words I ever had to get out of my mouth," she said later. Image Credit: NASA.

BLUE ANGELS PERFORMING AT OCEAN CITY AIR SHOW

150614-N-WJ386-079 OCEAN CITY, Md. (June 14, 2015) The U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, perform the Diamond 360 maneuver at the Ocean City Air Show. The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 68 demonstrations at 35 locations across the U.S. in 2015. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrea Perez/Released)

IMAGE FROM BALTIC OPERATIONS 2015

DOD Caption. Four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 480th Fighter Squadron conduct a refueling mission during Baltic Operations 2015 over the Baltic Sea, June 15, 2015. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Michael Battles.

TROPICAL STORM BILL

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, currently on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, took this photograph of Tropical Storm Bill in the Gulf of Mexico as it approached the coast of Texas, on June 15, 2015. Kelly wrote, "Concerned for all in its path including family, friends & colleagues."

ON EDGE SPIRAL GALAXY NGC 5023

Caption Credit: NASA. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows an edge-on view of the spiral galaxy NGC 5023. Due to its orientation we cannot appreciate its spiral arms, but we can admire the elegant profile of its disk. The galaxy lies over 30 million light-years away from us. NGC 5023 is part of the M51 group of galaxies. The brightest galaxy in this group is Messier 51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, which has been captured by Hubble many times. NGC 5023 is less fond of the limelight and seems rather unsociable in comparison — it is relatively isolated from the other galaxies in the group. Astronomers are particularly interested in the vertical structure of disks like these. By analyzing the structure above and below the central plane of the galaxy they can make progress in understanding galaxy evolution. Astronomers are able to analyze the distribution of different types of stars within the galaxy and their properties, in particular how well evolved they are on the Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram — a scatter graph of stars that shows their evolution. NGC 5023 is one of six edge-on spiral galaxies observed as part of a study using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. They study this vertical distribution and find a trend which suggests that heating of the disc plays an important role in producing the stars seen away from the plane of the galaxy. In fact, NGC 5023 is pretty popular when it comes to astronomers, despite its unsociable behavior. The galaxy is also one of 14 disk galaxies that are part of the GHOSTS survey — a survey which uses Hubble data to study galaxy halos, outer disks and star clusters. It is the largest study to date of star populations in the outskirts of disk galaxies. The incredible sharp sight of Hubble has allowed scientist to count more than 30,000 individual bright stars in this image. This is only a small fraction of the several billion stars that this galaxy contains, but the others are too faint to detect individually even with Hubble. European Space Agency Credit-ESA-NASA

THE THUNDERBIRDS FLY OVER CENTRAL PARTK

Members of the Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, fly in formation during a photo-chase mission over Central Park in New York City, May 22, 2015. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Couillard.

U.S. SAILORS RECOVER NASA TEST VEHICLE

Caption Credit: DOD. Sailors recover the test vehicle for NASA's low-density supersonic decelerator off the coast of the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, June 8, 2015. The vehicle is part of a project to investigate and test technologies to land future robotics and humans on Mars, and safely return large payloads to Earth. The sailors are assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer John M. Hageman.

A CROWDED NEIGHBORHOOD OF STARS

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way. It is located about 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), close to the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way. It is, like its neighbor the Quintuplet Cluster, a fairly young astronomical object at between two and four million years old. The Arches cluster is so dense that in a region with a radius equal to the distance between the sun and its nearest star there would be over 100,000 stars! At least 150 stars within the cluster are among the brightest ever discovered in the Milky Way. These stars are so bright and massive that they will burn their fuel within a short time (on a cosmological scale that means just a few million years). Then they will die in spectacular supernova explosions. Due to the short lifetime of the stars in the cluster the gas between the stars contains an unusually high amount of heavier elements, which were produced by earlier generations of stars. Despite its brightness the Arches Cluster cannot be seen with the naked eye. The visible light from the cluster is completely obscured by gigantic clouds of dust in this region. To make the cluster visible astronomers have to use detectors which can collect light from the X-ray, infrared, and radio bands, as these wavelengths can pass through the dust clouds. This observation shows the Arches Cluster in the infrared and demonstrates the leap in Hubble’s performance since its 1999 image of same object. Image credit: NASA/ESA. Text credit: European Space Agency

REOMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT DISPLADED AT DOD LAB DAY

A marine walks past a remotely piloted aircraft outside the Pentagon during the Department of Defense Lab Day, May 14, 2015. The aircraft is being developed by the Naval Research Laboratory. DoD photo by EJ Hersom.

SECOND TEST OF NASA'S LDSD

The second flight test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) will be attempted on Tuesday, June 2 at no earlier than 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HST), launching a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The LDSD project, led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, is conducting this full-scale flight test of two breakthrough technologies: a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or SIAD, and an innovative new parachute. These devices potentially will help us deliver double the current amount of payload — 1.5 metric tons — to the surface of Mars. They also will greatly increase the accessible surface area we can explore, and will improve landing accuracy from a margin of approximately 6.5 miles to a little more than 1 mile. All these factors will dramatically increase the success of future missions on Mars. The LDSD project's successful first flight test was launched on June 28, 2014. In this photograph, a full mission dress rehearsal is held for the LDSD project, Friday, May 29, 2015, at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

SPINSAT INVESTIGATION RETURNS

Equipment and data from the SpinSat investigation returns to Earth today, May 21, 2015, with splashdown of the sixth SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. This Nov. 28, 2014 photograph by NASA astronaut Terry Virts captures the predeploy of SpinSat, which was launched into orbit from the station.

50 YEARS OF GOING FOR A WALK IN SPACE

In this Feb. 7, 1984 photograph taken by his fellow crewmembers aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II approaches his maximum distance from the vehicle. McCandless became the first astronaut to maneuver about in space untethered, during this first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Image Credit: NASA.

NASA SUPPORTS F-15 PROGRAM

NASA pilot Jim Less and photographer Jim Ross pull their F-15D #897 aircraft away from a KC-135 refueling tanker. NASA is supporting the Edwards Air Force Base F-15 program with safety and photo chase expertise. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center currently flies an F-15D Eagle aircraft for research support and pilot proficiency. NASA research support aircraft are commonly called chase planes and fill the role of escort aircraft during research missions. Chase pilots are in constant radio contact with research pilots and serve as an "extra set of eyes" to help maintain total flight safety during specific tests and maneuvers. They monitor certain events for the research pilot and are an important safety feature on all research missions. Chase aircraft also are used as camera platforms for research missions that must be photographed or videotaped. Aeronautical engineers use this pictorial coverage (photos, motion pictures, and videotape) extensively to monitor and verify various aspects of research projects. The F-15D is also used by Armstrong research pilots for routine flight training required by all NASA pilots. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Ross.

SDO IMAGES OF THE SOLAR ATMOSPHEREE

Caption Credit: NASA. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to interior changes. Its data includes images of the sun in 10 wavelengths every 10 seconds. When AIA images are sharpened a bit, such as this AIA 171Å channel image, the magnetic field can be readily visualized through the bright, thin strands that are called "coronal loops". Loops are shown here in a blended overlay with the magnetic field as measured with SDO's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager underneath. Blue and yellow represent the opposite polarities of the magnetic field. The combined images were taken on Oct. 24, 2014, at 23:50:37 UT. Image Credit: NASA SDO.

NOAA'S GOES-EAST SATELLITE'S IMAGE OF NOR'EASTER

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured the center of the developing Nor'easter located off North Carolina's Outer Banks on Jan. 26 in the image from 16:30 UTC (12:30 p.m. EST). Image Credit: NASA/NOAA Goes Project

DEPRESSION ON SURFACE OF MARS

Caption Credit: NASA. This image of a circular depression on the surface of Mars was acquired on Jan. 5, 2015 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since March 2006 and completed its 40,000th orbit around Mars on Feb. 7, 2015. The target of this observation is a circular depression in a dark-toned unit associated with a field of cones to the northeast. At the scale of an image taken by MRO's Context Camera, which provides wide area views to provide context for high-resolution analysis, the depression appears to expose layers especially on the sides or walls, which are overlain by dark sands presumably associated with the dark-toned unit. The HiRISE camera's resolution, which is far higher than that of the Context Camera and its larger footprint, can help identify possible layers. HiRISE is one of six instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-University of Arizona.

MILITARY ROBOT DISPLAYED AT DOD LAB DAY

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Perara guides a robot during the Department of Defense Lab Day at the Pentagon, May 14, 2015. Perara is assigned to the Marine Warfighting Laboratory. DoD photo by EJ Hersom.

FLEET WEEK NEW YORK 2015

Caption Credit: U.S. Navy. 150520-N-PJ969-213 NEW YORK (May 20, 2015) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) enters New York harbor during the Parade of Ships to start Fleet Week New York 2015. Fleet Week New York, now in its 27th year, is the city's time-honored celebration of the sea services. It is an unparalleled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Abe McNatt/Released)

22,000 LIGHT YEARS TO EARTH: NGC 6535

This image captures the stunning NGC 6535, a globular cluster 22,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent) that measures one light-year across. Globular clusters are tightly bound groups of stars which orbit galaxies. The large mass in the rich stellar centre of the globular cluster pulls the stars inward to form a ball of stars. The word globulus, from which these clusters take their name, is Latin for small sphere. Globular clusters are generally very ancient objects formed around the same time as their host galaxy. To date, no new star formation has been observed within a globular cluster, which explains the abundance of aging yellow stars in this image, most of them containing very few heavy elements. NGC 6535 was first discovered in 1852 by English astronomer John Russell Hind. The cluster would have appeared to Hind as a small, faint smudge through his telescope. Now, over 160 years later, instruments like the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the NASA/ European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope allow us to marvel at the cluster and its contents in greater detail. European Space Agency Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine.

INTELSAT VI SATELLITE MOVES INTO ENDEAVOUR'S CARGO BAY

Caption Credit: NASA. On May 13, 1992, following the successful capture of the Intelsat VI satellite, three astronauts continue moving the 4.5 ton communications satellite into the space shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay. The sections of Earth which form the backdrop for the scene are blanketed with thousands of square miles of clouds. NASA Photo.

THE DRYDEN AEROSPIKE ROCKET TEST

Caption Credit: NASA. EC04-0113-171 The Dryden Aerospike Rocket Test provided the first known data from a solid-fueled aerospike rocket in flight. The test took place March 30 and 31, 2004, at the King Ranch launch site at the Pecos County Aerospace Development Corporation Flight Test Range in Fort Stockton, Texas. March 30, 2004 NASA Photo / Steve Thomas. Aerospike Rocket Project. Last Updated: May 9, 2015. Editor: NASA Administrator.

HEAVY RAINFALL FALLS ON AUSTRALIAN COASTS

Caption Credit: NASA. The rainfall accumulation analysis above was computed from data generated by the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) during the period from April 28 to May 3, 2015. During this period IMERG algorithms continuously merged and interpolated satellite passive microwave precipitation estimates and microwave-calibrated infrared (IR) satellite estimates over the entire globe. Rainfall from cyclone Quang fell over the west coast and a non-tropical system pounded the east coast of Australia simultaneously during the past weekend. Cyclone Quang formed in the South Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on April 28, 2015. Quang's peak intensity of 115kts (133 mph) occurred while it was well off western Australia's coast. The heaviest rainfall with cyclone Quang also occurred during this period when the tropical cyclone was far out in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia's coast. Total rainfall there was measured at over 454 mm (17.9 inches). Heavy rainfall of over 448 mm (17.7 inches) was also found by this analysis in the Coral Sea off Australia's southeast coast. Rainfall totals of above 356 mm (14.0 inches) were analyzed with the passage of the low pressure center over southeastern Australia. Flooding in this area caused the reported deaths of at least four Australians. Credits-SSAI-NASA, Hal Pierce.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE GRAND CANYON

From the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Terry Virts took this photograph of an early morning sunrise over the Grand Canyon and posted it to social media on May 10, 2015. Because the station completes each trip around the globe in about 92 minutes, the crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. The space station and its crew orbit Earth from an altitude of 220 miles, traveling at a speed of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. Because the station completes each trip around the globe in about 92 minutes, the crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. Image Credit: NASA. Last Updated: May 13, 2015. Editor: Sarah Loff

THE ISS SOALR ARRAY

Caption Credit: NASA. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) photographed the giant solar arrays on the International Space Station on Feb. 12, 2015. The space station's solar arrays contain a total of 262,400 solar cells and cover an area of about 27,000 square feet (2,500 square meters) -- more than half the area of a football field. A solar array's wingspan of 240 feet (73 meters) is longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan, which is 212 feet (65 meters). Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity -- enough to provide power to more than 40 homes. The solar arrays produce more power than the station needs at one time for station systems and experiments. When the station is in sunlight, about 60 percent of the electricity that the solar arrays generate is used to charge the station's batteries. At times, some or all of the solar arrays are in the shadow of Earth or the shadow of part of the station. This means that those arrays are not collecting sunlight. The batteries power the station when it is not in the sun. Image Credit: ESA/NASA

THE ATMOSPHERE ON MERCURY

Caption Credit: NASA. The Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) instrument aboard NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft was designed to study both the exosphere and surface of the planet Mercury. To learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury, the Visual and Infrared Spectrometer (VIRS) portion of MASCS has been diligently collecting single tracks of spectral surface measurements since MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. The track coverage is now extensive enough that the spectral properties of both broad terrains and small, distinct features such as pyroclastic vents and fresh craters can be studied. To accentuate the geological context of the spectral measurements, the MASCS data have been overlain on the monochrome mosiac from the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), an instrument with wide- and narrow-angle cameras to map the rugged landforms and spectral variations on Mercury’s surface. Click on the image to explore the colorful diversity of surface materials in more detail! The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet. In the mission's more than four years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER's highly successful orbital mission is about to come to an end, as the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury near the end of April 2015. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

GUARD HELICOPTERS BATTLE WILDFIRES IN NORTH DAKOTA

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 1-112th Aviation Company, fights a wildfire south of Bismarck, North Dakota, on April 13, 2015. Smoke obscures the aircraft as it flies its bucket to drop water on the blaze. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Brett Miller.)

NASA'S GREASED LIGHTNING BATTERY PLANE

Caption Credit: NASA. A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1 meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping. During a recent spring day the engineers took the GL-10 to test its wings at a military base about two hours away from NASA Langley. The remotely piloted plane has a 10-foot wingspan (3.05 meters), eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail and weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take off. This photograph captures the GL-10 prototype taking off in hover mode like a helicopter. Image Credit: NASA Langley/David C. Bowman

3-D PRINTER AND MANUFACTURING IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. The International Space Station’s 3-D printer has manufactured the first 3-D printed object in space, paving the way to future long-term space expeditions. The object, a printhead faceplate, is engraved with names of the organizations that collaborated on this space station technology demonstration: NASA and Made In Space, Inc., the space manufacturing company that worked with NASA to design, build and test the 3-D printer. This image of the printer, with the Microgravity Science Glovebox Engineering Unit in the background, was taken in April 2014 during flight certification and acceptance testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, prior to its launch to the station aboard a SpaceX commercial resupply mission. The first objects built in space will be returned to Earth in 2015 for detailed analysis and comparison to the identical ground control samples made on the flight printer prior to launch. The goal of this analysis is to verify that the 3-D printing process works the same in microgravity as it does on Earth. The printer works by extruding heated plastic, which then builds layer upon layer to create three-dimensional objects. Testing this on the station is the first step toward creating a working "machine shop" in space. This capability may decrease cost and risk on the station, which will be critical when space explorers venture far from Earth and will create an on-demand supply chain for needed tools and parts. Long-term missions would benefit greatly from onboard manufacturing capabilities. Data and experience gathered in this demonstration will improve future 3-D manufacturing technology and equipment for the space program, allowing a greater degree of autonomy and flexibility for astronauts. Image Credit-NASA-Emmett Given.

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. February 24, 2015 Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Completes Successful Tracking and Simulated Engagements of Three Short-Range Ballistic Missiles. This test was designated Flight Test Other (FTX)-19. This was the first flight test to assess the ability of the Aegis BMD 4.0 weapon system to simulate engagements of a raid consisting of three short-range, separating ballistic missile targets. This was also the first time Aegis BMD 4.0 ships used the DWES capability with live targets. The MDA will use test results to improve and enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System and support the advancement of Phase 2 of the Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense in Europe to provide protection of U.S. deployed forces and our European allies and partners.

FROSTY MARS

Caption: Livio Tornabene, Ryan Hopkins, Kayle Hansen and Eric Pilles. This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. At this time of year, only south-facing slopes retain the frost, while the north-facing slopes have melted. Gullies are not the only active geologic process going on here. A small crater is visible at the bottom of the slope. The image was acquired on Nov. 30, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

ARMY DELIVERS NEW TECH TO GLOBAL RESPONSE FORCE

Caption Credit: Amy Walker, staff writer for PEO C3T. The Army is delivering new technologies to the Global Response Force that will help transform the concept of a command post from a stationary, tented shelter to a mobile enabler for expeditionary mission command - including during operations in flight and early entry into developing situations.

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT REFUELS IN FLIGHT

50422-N-CE233-377 PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (April 22, 2015) The Navy's unmanned X-47B receives fuel from an Omega K-707 tanker while operating in the Atlantic Test Ranges over the Chesapeake Bay. This test marked the first time an unmanned aircraft refueled in flight. (U.S. Navy photo/Released).

U.S. NAVY DISPLAYS 28,000 POUNDS OF COCAINE

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. 150416-N-UL721-037 SAN DIEGO (April 16, 2015) More than 28,000 pounds of cocaine, worth over $424 million, seized in 19 separate interdictions awaits its offload aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC 719) at Naval Base San Diego. U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy ships have seized more cocaine in the last six months than in all of fiscal year 2014. Joint, interagency, and international relationships strengthen U.S. 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Corey T. Jones/Released)

SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET CARRYING SUPPLIES FOR ISS

Caption Credit: NASA. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft on the sixth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 4:10 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 14. Research that will help prepare NASA astronauts and robotic explorers for future missions to Mars is among the two tons of cargo on its way to the International Space Station aboard Dragon. The mission is the company's sixth cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support approximately 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will be performed during Expeditions 43 and 44, including numerous human research investigations for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly's one-year mission in space. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

DOD'S LARGES SOLAR ARRAY, NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the newest Air Force solar array, 19-megawat farm Nellis II, March 24, 2105, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. This is the second industrial-scale array at the base, and, once complete, the arrays will be the largest photovoltaic system in the Department of Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo)

SEA ICE OFF COAST OF EAST ANTARCTICA

On April 5, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image of sea ice off the coast of East Antarctica’s Princess Astrid Coast. White areas close to the continent are sea ice, while white areas in the northeast corner of the image are clouds. One way to better distinguish ice from clouds is with false-color imagery. In the false-color view of the scene here, ice is blue and clouds are white. The image was acquired after Antarctic sea ice had passed its annual minimum extent (reached on Feb. 20, 2015), and had resumed expansion toward its maximum extent (usually reached in September). More information: NASA's Earth Observatory Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption: Kathryn Hansen.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE?

Caption Credit: NASA. As NASA missions explore our solar system and search for new worlds, they are finding water in surprising places. Water is but one piece of our search for habitable planets and life beyond Earth, yet it links many seemingly unrelated worlds in surprising ways. Perhaps the most surprising water worlds are the five icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn that show strong evidence of oceans beneath their surfaces: Ganymede, Europa and Callisto at Jupiter, and Enceladus and Titan at Saturn. Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently provided powerful evidence that Ganymede has a saltwater, sub-surface ocean, likely sandwiched between two layers of ice. In this artist’s concept, the moon Ganymede orbits the giant planet Jupiter. The Hubble Space Telescope observed aurorae on the moon generated by Ganymede’s magnetic fields. A saline ocean under the moon’s icy crust best explains shifting in the auroral belts measured by Hubble. More: The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water Image Credit: NASA/ESA.

HEIST TESTED AT ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER

Caption Credit: NASA. Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project researchers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center are performing ground testing of a 31-foot-span, carbon composite wing section with 18 electric motors. The LEAPTech project will test the premise that tighter propulsion-airframe integration, made possible with electric power, will deliver improved efficiency and safety, as well as environmental and economic benefits. The experimental wing, called the Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST), is mounted on a specially modified truck. Testing on the mobile ground rig assembly will provide valuable data and risk reduction applicable to future flight research. Instead of being installed in a wind tunnel, the HEIST wing section will remain attached to load cells on a supporting truss while the vehicle is driven at speeds up to 70 miles per hour across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. LEAPTech to Demonstrate Electric Propulsion Technologies Image Credit: Joby Aviation.

MINERAL VEINS ON MOUNT SHARP, MARS

Caption Credit: NASA. This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a network of two-tone mineral veins at an area called "Garden City" on lower Mount Sharp. The veins combine light and dark material. The veins at this site jut to heights of up to about 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) above the surrounding rock, and their widths range up to about 1.5 inches (4 centimeters). Figure 1 includes a 30-centimeter scale bar (about 12 inches). Mineral veins such as these form where fluids move through fractured rocks, depositing minerals in the fractures and affecting chemistry of the surrounding rock. In this case, the veins have been more resistant to erosion than the surrounding host rock. This scene is a mosaic combining 28 images taken with Mastcam's right-eye camera, which has a telephoto lens with a focal length of 100 millimeters. The component images were taken on March 18, 2015, during the 929th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Feature: Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Veins on Mars. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-MSSS.

A LOOK AT SUPER TYPHOON MAYSAK FROM ISS

Caption Credit: NASA. Typhoon Maysak strengthened into a super typhoon on March 31, reaching Category 5 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti captured this image while flying over the weather system on board the International Space Station. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites, both co-managed by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, captured rainfall and cloud data that revealed heavy rainfall and high thunderstorms in the strengthening storm. The TRMM satellite has been collecting valuable scientific data since November 1997. Early on March 30, the satellite collected rainfall data as it flew directly above Maysak at 04:14 UTC (12:14 a.m. EDT) when maximum sustained winds were near 85 knots (98 mph). Rainfall data was collected by TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments and showed heaviest rainfall southwest of the center, and in fragmented bands of thunderstorms northeast of the center. In both of those places rainfall was in excess of 50 mm/2 inches per hour. More information. Image Credit-ESA-NASA-Samantha Cristoforetti.

U.S. AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRDS PERFORM DEMONSTRATION AT NELLIS AFB

Caption Credit: U.S. Air Force. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform their demonstration March 2, 2015, in preparation for the commander of Air Combat Command at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The Thunderbirds perform their show several times a year at multiple locations across the U.S. The solo pilots integrate their own routines, exhibiting some of the maximum capabilities of the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighter jet. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Thomas Spangler)

SOYUZ TMA-16M SPACECRAFT ROLLS OUT

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen after having rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz at 3:42 p.m. EDT, Friday, March 27 (March 28, Kazakh time). As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016. Most expeditions to the space station last four to six months. By doubling the length of this mission, researchers hope to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human journeys deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer. More: A Year in Space Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

TRAINING CONTINUES FOR IRAQI TROOPS

Iraqi army soldiers across a street while scanning for threats during close-quarters battle training on Camp Taji, Iraq, March 12, 2015. Iraqi soldiers are training with U.S. soldiers for deployment to northern Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman James Richardson

OPPORTUNITY'S VIEW OF MARATHON VALLEY

This view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows part of "Marathon Valley," a destination on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, as seen from an overlook north of the valley. The scene spans from east, at left, to southeast. It combines four pointings of the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) on March 13, 2015, during the 3,958th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. The rover team selected Marathon Valley as a science destination because observations of this location using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter yielded evidence of clay minerals, a clue to ancient wet environments. By the time Opportunity explores Marathon Valley, the rover will have exceeded a total driving distance equivalent to an Olympic marathon. Opportunity has been exploring the Meridiani Planum region of Mars since January 2004. This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combining exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters at each of the four camera pointings, using filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE SPACECRAFT LAUNCH

Caption Credit: NASA. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft onboard launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, March 12, 2015, Florida. NASA’s MMS mission studies the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that work together to provide the first three-dimensional view of this fundamental process, which occurs throughout the universe. Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.

RETURN OF SOYUZ TMA-14M SPACECRAFT

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is seen as it lands with International Space Station Expedition 42 commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Elena Serova of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The landing took place on the evening of Wednesday, March 11 in the U.S, and early in the morning on Thursday, March 12, in Kazakhstan. The three crew members returned to Earth after a 167-day mission on the orbital outpost that included hundreds of scientific experiments and several spacewalks to prepare the orbiting laboratory for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

GIVING ORION A LIFT

Caption Credit: NASA. Engineers across the country have been busy taking a closer look at NASA's Orion spacecraft and the data it produced during its successful flight test in December 2014. Inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Orion was lifted using a special crane for removal of its heat shield on Feb. 13, 2015. In the background, technicians move the heat shield on a work stand. The spacecraft’s heat shield protected Orion as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere at searing temperatures. Removing the back shell allows the team to get a closer look at Orion’s systems to see how they fared during the trip to space. The heat shield was removed in preparation for shipment to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where special equipment will be used to remove its ablative material. From there, the heat shield will be shipped to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where it will be outfitted on a test article for water impact testing. Meanwhile, NASA and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for Orion, continue to take a look at the data the flight test produced to validate pre-flight models and improve the spacecraft’s design. Analysis of data obtained during its two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 will provide engineers detailed information on how the spacecraft fared. Photo Credit-NASA-Jim Grossmann.

U.S. AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRD'S DEMONSTRATE FLYING SKILLS

U.S. DOD Caption: U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds air demonstration jets pass during a practice show on Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nov. 7, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez

DAWN ARIVES TO DWARF PLANET CERES

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet’s gravity at about 4:39 a.m. PST (7:39 a.m. EST) Friday, March 6. This image of Ceres was taken by the Dawn spacecraft on March 1, just a few days before the mission achieved orbit around the previously unexplored world. The image shows Ceres as a crescent, mostly in shadow because the spacecraft's trajectory put it on a side of Ceres that faces away from the sun until mid-April. When Dawn emerges from Ceres' dark side, it will deliver ever-sharper images as it spirals to lower orbits around the planet. The image was obtained at a distance of about 30,000 miles (about 48,000 kilometers) at a sun-Ceres-spacecraft angle, or phase angle, of 123 degrees. Image scale on Ceres is 1.9 miles (2.9 kilometers) per pixel. Ceres has an average diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers). Dawn's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

THUNDERBIRDS PERFORM FLYOVER AT SUPERBOWL XLIX

Caption Credit: U.S. Defense department. Thunderbirds pilots approach the University of Phoenix Stadium to perform a flyover during opening ceremonies of the Super Bowl XLIX game in Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez.

COMET C/2014 Q2 KNOWN AS LOVEJOY

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is one of more than 32 comets imaged by NASA's NEOWISE mission from December 2013 to December 2014. This image of comet Lovejoy combines a series of observations made in November 2013, when comet Lovejoy was 1.7 astronomical units from the sun. (An astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and the sun.) The image spans half of one degree. It shows the comet moving in a mostly west and slightly south direction. (North is 26 degrees to the right of up in the image, and west is 26 degrees downward from directly right.) The red color is caused by the strong signal in the NEOWISE 4.6-micron wavelength detector, owing to a combination of gas and dust in the comet's coma. Comet Lovejoy is the brightest comet in Earth's sky in early 2015. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

ISS VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF HAWAII

Caption Credit: NASA. From the International Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) took this photograph of the island of Hawaii and posted it to social media on Feb. 28, 2015. Cristoforetti wrote, "And suddenly as we flew over the Pacific... the island of #Hawaii with its volcanoes! #HelloEarth".Crewmembers on the space station photograph the Earth from their unique point of view located 200 miles above the surface as part of the Crew Earth Observations program. Photographs record how the planet is changing over time, from human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. The ISS maintains an altitude between 220 - 286 miles (354 - 460 km) above the Earth, and an orbital inclination of 51.6˚, providing an excellent stage for observing most populated areas of the world. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Samantha Cristoforetti.

GETTING READY FOR VISITORS IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on the first of three spacewalks preparing the station for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. Fellow spacewalker Terry Virts, seen reflected in the visor, shared this photograph on social media. The spacewalks are designed to lay cables along the forward end of the U.S. segment to bring power and communication to two International Docking Adapters slated to arrive later this year. The new docking ports will welcome U.S. commercial spacecraft launching from Florida beginning in 2017, permitting the standard station crew size to grow from six to seven and potentially double the amount of crew time devoted to research. The second and third spacewalks are planned for Wednesday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, March 1, with Wilmore and Virts participating in all three. Image Credit: NASA.

"LIVE LONG AND PROSPER"

Caption Credit: NASAInternational Space Station astronaut Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) tweeted this image of a Vulcan hand salute from orbit as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy, who died on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Nimoy played science officer Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series that served as an inspiration to generations of scientists, engineers and sci-fi fans around the world. Cape Cod and Boston, Massachusetts, Nimoy's home town, are visible through the station window.

SMAP LAUNCHES INTO SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 2, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SMAP is NASA’s first Earth-observing satellite designed to collect global observations of surface soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. SMAP will provide high resolution global measurements of soil moisture from space. The data will be used to enhance scientists' understanding of the processes that link Earth's water, energy, and carbon cycles. )Photo Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls.

2015: THE YEAR OF LIGHT

The year of 2015 has been declared the International Year of Light (IYL) by the United Nations. Organizations, institutions, and individuals involved in the science and applications of light will be joining together for this yearlong celebration to help spread the word about the wonders of light. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory explores the universe in X-rays, a high-energy form of light. By studying X-ray data and comparing them with observations in other types of light, scientists can develop a better understanding of objects likes stars and galaxies that generate temperatures of millions of degrees and produce X-rays. To recognize the start of IYL, the Chandra X-ray Center is releasing a set of images that combine data from telescopes tuned to different wavelengths of light. From a distant galaxy to the relatively nearby debris field of an exploded star, these images demonstrate the myriad ways that information about the universe is communicated to us through light. In this image, an expanding shell of debris called SNR 0519-69.0 is left behind after a massive star exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. Multimillion degree gas is seen in X-rays from Chandra, in blue. The outer edge of the explosion (red) and stars in the field of view are seen in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope. Chandra Celebrates the International Year of Light. Image Credit: NASA-CXC-SAO.

NASA SENDS SOUNDING ROCKETS INTO AUROAS

The interaction of solar winds and Earth’s atmosphere produces northern lights, or auroras, that dance across the night sky and mesmerize the casual observer. However, to scientists this interaction is more than a light display. It produces many questions about the role it plays in Earth’s meteorological processes and the impact on the planet’s atmosphere. To help answer some of these questions, NASA suborbital sounding rockets carrying university-developed experiments -- the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Turbulence Experiment (M-TeX) and Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) -- were launched into auroras from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. The experiments explore the Earth’s atmosphere’s response to auroral, radiation belt and solar energetic particles and associated effects on nitric oxide and ozone. This composite shot of all four sounding rockets for the M-TeX and MIST experiments is made up of 30 second exposures. The rocket salvo began at 4:13 a.m. EST, Jan. 26, 2015. A fifth rocket carrying the Auroral Spatial Structures Probe remains ready on the launch pad. The launch window for this experiment runs through Jan. 27. Image Credit: NASA-Jamie Adkin.

THE FIRST BIG SOLAR FLARE OF 2015

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11:24 p.m. EST on Jan. 12, 2015. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. Image Credit-NASA-SDO.

AIR FORCE BUILDS AN ICE BRIDGE IN ALASKA

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. Senior Airman Jerry Mitchell uses a water pump Nov. 20, 2014, while constructing an ice bridge in Fairbanks, Alaska. The bridge must be constructed every other year to provide access to the $20 million range complex used to train pilots from around the world during Red Flag-Alaska exercises. Mitchell is a heavy equipment operator with the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo-Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel)

K2: PROFILE OF A PLANET HUNTER

Caption Credit: NASA. The artistic impression shows NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft operating in a new mission profile called K2. In May the spacecraft began its new mission observing in the ecliptic plane, the orbital path of Earth around the sun, depicted by the grey-blue line marked by opaque cross-like shapes. Each shape represents the field-of-view of an observing campaign. The K2 mission observes a specific portion of the distant sky for approximately 80 days, until it is necessary to rotate the spacecraft to prevent sunlight from entering the telescope. The spacecraft orbits the sun every 372 days as it trails Earth, allowing for four full campaigns per orbit or year. The arching band of stars is the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using publicly available data collected by the spacecraft in February 2014 during the performance concept test to prove K2 would work, astronomers have confirmed the first exoplanet detected by the K2 mission. The newly confirmed planet, HIP 116454b, is 2.5 times the diameter of Earth, and closely orbits a star smaller and cooler than our sun once every nine days, making the planet too hot for life as we know it. The star and planet are 180 light-years from Earth toward the constellation Pisces. In May 2013, data collection for Kepler's extended prime mission came to an end when the second of four reaction wheels used to stabilize the spacecraft failed. Without at least three functioning reaction wheels, Kepler couldn’t be pointed at the original field with sufficient stability to precisely measure the dimming of starlight caused by a planet when it passes or transits in front of a distant star. Rather than giving up on the stalwart spacecraft, a team of scientists and engineers crafted a resourceful strategy to use pressure from sunlight as a virtual reaction wheel to help control the spacecraft while observing the sky in the ecliptic plane. The resulting K2 mission promises to not only continue Kepler’s planet hunt, but to expand that search to bright nearby stars which harbor planets that allow scientists to study them in detail to better understand their composition. K2 will also introduce new opportunities to observe star clusters, active galaxies, and supernovae. Link to full NASA press release: NASA’s Kepler Reborn, Makes First Exoplanet Find of New Mission Credit: NASA Ames-JPL-Caltech-T Pyle.

MARS ROVER VISITS THE LAKE

Caption Credit: NASA. This evenly layered rock photographed by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows a pattern typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit not far from where flowing water entered a lake. The scene combines multiple frames taken with Mastcam's right-eye camera on Aug. 7, 2014, during the 712th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. It shows an outcrop at the edge of "Hidden Valley," seen from the valley floor. This view spans about 5 feet (1.5 meters) across in the foreground. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Figure A is a version with a superimposed scale bar of 50 centimeters (about 20 inches). This is an example of a thick-laminated, evenly-stratified rock type that forms stratigraphically beneath cross-bedded sandstones regarded as ancient river deposits. These rocks are interpreted to record sedimentation in a lake, as part of or in front of a delta, where plumes of river sediment settled out of the water column and onto the lake floor. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. Related: NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Clues to How Water Helped Shape Martian Landscape Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

THE END OF THE MISSION IN AFGHAISTAN

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter lands while coalition troops prepare for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and U.S. Army XVIII Airborne Corps end-of-mission ceremony on North Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2014. The command's five-year mission was to neutralize the insurgency in specified areas and support improved governance and development, in order to protect the Afghan people and provide a secure environment for sustainable peace. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston

NASA DEVELOPING TECH TO IMPROVE FUEL EFFICIENCY, NOISE POLUTION

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA's green aviation project is one step closer to developing technology that could make future airliners quieter and more fuel-efficient with the successful flight test of a wing surface that can change shape in flight. This past summer, researchers replaced an airplane’s conventional aluminum flaps with advanced, shape-changing assemblies that form seamless bendable and twistable surfaces. Flight testing will determine whether flexible trailing-edge wing flaps are a viable approach to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce noise generated during takeoffs and landings. For the initial Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flight, shown in this image, the experimental control surfaces were locked at a specified setting. Varied flap settings on subsequent tests will demonstrate the capability of the flexible surfaces under actual flight conditions. ACTE technology is expected to have far-reaching effects on future aviation. Advanced lightweight materials will reduce wing structural weight and give engineers the ability to aerodynamically tailor the wings to promote improved fuel economy and more efficient operations, while reducing environmental impacts. NASA Tests Revolutionary Shape Changing Aircraft Flap for the First Time Image Credit: NASA/Ken Ulbrich.

ORION PASSES SPACEPORT VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING

Caption Credit: NASA. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's Orion spacecraft passes the spaceport's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building as it is transported to Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. After arrival at the launch pad, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians will lift Orion and mount it atop its Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion began its journey to the launch pad at at the Launch Abort System Facility, where a 52-foot-tall protective fairing and the launch abort system were attached to the 10-foot, 11-inch-tall crew module. Resting atop a specialized Kamag transporter, Orion was moved to Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The move began at 8:54 p.m. EST and concluded at 3:07 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in its first unpiloted flight test, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

NuSTAR FINDS ENERGETIC PULSAR

Image and caption credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAO. The blue dot in this image marks the spot of an energetic pulsar -- the magnetic, spinning core of star that blew up in a supernova explosion. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, discovered the pulsar by identifying its telltale pulse -- a rotating beam of X-rays, that like a cosmic lighthouse, intersects Earth every 0.2 seconds. The pulsar, called PSR J1640-4631, lies in our inner Milky Way galaxy about 42,000 light-years away. It was originally identified by as an intense source of gamma rays by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in Namibia. NuSTAR helped pin down the source of the gamma rays to a pulsar. The other pink dots in this picture show low-energy X-rays detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. In this image, NuSTAR data is blue and shows high-energy X-rays with 3 to 79 kiloelectron volts; Chandra data is pink and shows X-rays with 0.5 to 10 kiloeletron volts. The background image shows infrared light and was captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

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ULTRA VIOLET EXTREME

NASA Caption: The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 19, 2014, peaking at 1:01 a.m. EDT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is always observing the sun, captured this image of the event in extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 131 Angstroms – a wavelength that can see the intense heat of a flare and that is typically colorized in teal. This flare is classified as an X1.1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 flare is twice as intense as an X1, and an X3 is three times as intense. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. > More: NASA's SDO Observes an X-class Solar Flare. Image Credit-NASA-Solar Dynamics Observatory.

GLACIERS AND MOUNTAINS OF WEST ANTARTICA

Caption Credit: NASA. Glaciers and mountains in the evening sun are seen on an Operation IceBridge research flight, returning from West Antarctica on Oct. 29, 2014. NASA is carrying out its sixth consecutive year of Operation IceBridge research flights over Antarctica to study changes in the continent’s ice sheet, glaciers and sea ice. This year’s airborne campaign revisits a section of the Antarctic ice sheet that recently was found to be in irreversible decline. IceBridge uses a suite of instruments that includes a laser altimeter, radar instruments, cameras, and a gravimeter, which is an instrument that detects small changes in gravity. These small changes reveal how much mass these glaciers have lost. Researchers plan to measure previously unsurveyed regions of Antarctica, such as the upper portions of Smith Glacier in West Antarctica, which is thinning faster than any other glaciers in the region. The mission also plans to collect data in portions of the Antarctic Peninsula, such as the Larsen C, George VI and Wilkins ice shelves and the glaciers that drain into them. The Antarctic Peninsula has been warming faster than the rest of the continent. In addition to extending the data record of NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which stopped collecting data in 2009, IceBridge will also help set the stage for ICESat-2 by measuring ice the satellite will fly over. > Operation IceBridge Antarctic 2014 Campaign Image Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger.

ANTARES ROCKET EXPLODES DURING LAUNCH

Attention: Antares rocket explodes on liftoff Monday, Oct. 27. NASA Caption: Orbital Antares Rocket at the Launch Pad: The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with over 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-3 mission is Orbital Sciences' third contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Launch is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27 at 6:45 p.m. EDT. Image Credit-NASA-Joel Kowsky.

THE ULTIMATE IN SUNBLOCK

A partial solar eclipse was visible from much of North America before sundown on Thursday, Oct.23. A partial eclipse occurs when the moon blocks a portion of the Sun from view. The Hinode spacecraft captured images of yesterday’s eclipse as it passed over North America using its X-ray Telescope. During the eclipse, the new moon eased across the Sun from right to left with the Sun shining brilliantly in the background. And as a stroke of good luck, this solar cycle’s largest active region, which has been the source of several large flares over the past week, was centered on the Sun’s disk as the moon transitted! Hinode is in the eighth year of its mission to observe the Sun. Previously, Hinode has observed numerous eclipses due to its high-altitude, sun-synchronous orbit. As viewed from Hinode’s vantage point in space, this eclipse was annular instead of partial, which means that the entire moon moved in front of the Sun but did not cover it completely. In this situation, a ring of the Sun encircles the dark disk of the moon. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Hinode mission is a collaboration between the space agencies of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. NASA helped in the development, funding and assembly of the spacecraft's three science instruments. Hinode is part of the Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) Program within the Heliophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Hinode science operations. The Lockheed Martin Corp. in Palo Alto, Calif., is the lead U.S. investigator for the Solar Optical Telescope. Image Credit: NASA

F-22 RAPTOR REFUELS BEFORE STRIKE OPERATIONS IN SYRIA

Caption Credit: U.S. Defense Department. An U.S Air Force KC-10 Extender refuels an F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft before strike operations in Syria, Sept. 26, 2014. These aircraft were part of a strike package engaging targets against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Russ Scalf.

SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION IN X-RAY LIGHT

Caption Credit: NASA. The destructive results of a powerful supernova explosion reveal themselves in a delicate tapestry of X-ray light, as seen in this image from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton. The image shows the remains of a supernova that would have been witnessed on Earth about 3,700 years ago. The remnant is called Puppis A, and is around 7,000 light years away and about 10 light years across. This image provides the most complete and detailed X-ray view of Puppis A ever obtained, made by combining a mosaic of different Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. Low-energy X-rays are shown in red, medium-energy X-rays are in green and high energy X-rays are colored blue. These observations act as a probe of the gas surrounding Puppis A, known as the interstellar medium. The complex appearance of the remnant shows that Puppis A is expanding into an interstellar medium that probably has a knotty structure. Supernova explosions forge the heavy elements that can provide the raw material from which future generations of stars and planets will form. Studying how supernova remnants expand into the galaxy and interact with other material provides critical clues into our own origins. A paper describing these results was published in the July 2013 issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics and is available online. The first author is Gloria Dubner from the Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Image credit: NASA/CXC/IAFE/G.Dubner et al & ESA/XMM-Newton.

TROPICAL STORM KARINA FOLLOWED BY TROPICAL DEPRESSION

Caption Credit: NASA. On August 18, NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of tiny Tropical Storm Karina followed to the east by the massive Tropical Depression12-E. Image Credit: On August 18, NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of tiny Tropical Storm Karina followed to the east by the massive Tropical Depression12-E.

TEST VERSION OF ORION SPACECRAFT FLOATS

Caption Credit: NASA. A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft floats inside the well deck of the U.S.S. Anchorage on Aug. 2, 2014, during recovery tests off the coast of California. A combined NASA and U.S. Navy team practiced recovery techniques over the weekend, in preparation for Orion's first trip to (and return from) space in Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. After traveling 3,600 miles into space on the uncrewed EFT-1, Orion will return to Earth at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour and endure temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit before landing in the Pacific Ocean. > NASA Prepares for Second Orion Underway Recovery Test Image Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary Keen

MAN'S FIRST MOON LANDING

CAPTION AND IMAGE CREDIT: NASA. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration was photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia. Inside the module were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine.

PROTOTYPE ROBOT WITH SMARTPHONE TO TEST3-D MAPPING, NAVIGATION

Image and Story Credit: NASA/Ames. Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus spacecraft will carry 3,293 pounds (1,493.8 kg) of cargo on its upcoming commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, including crew supplies, nanosatellites, student research and this prototype free-flying space robot equipped with a smartphone, known as Smart SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites). NASA has been testing SPHERES on the space station since 2011. This summer, astronauts will upgrade these existing space robots to use Google’s "Project Tango" smartphone, which features a custom 3-D sensor and multiple cameras. NASA will then use the Smart SPHERES to test free-flying 3-D mapping and navigation inside the space station. NASA is developing the Smart SPHERES to perform work on the space station that requires mobile sensing, such as environmental surveys to monitor levels of radiation, lighting and air quality. They also will be used to monitor inventory and conduct experiments. The development and testing of Smart SPHERES is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA'S NEW POWERFUL ROCKET

NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, will be the most powerful rocket in history. The flexible, evolvable design of this advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle will meet a variety of crew and cargo mission needs. In addition to carrying the Orion spacecraft, SLS will transfer important cargo, equipment and science experiments to deep space, providing the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable means to expand our reach in the solar system. It will allow astronauts aboard Orion to explore multiple deep-space destinations including an asteroid and ultimately Mars. The first configuration of the SLS launch vehicle will have a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS is evolved, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built and provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system. Image Credit: NASA.

THE MAIDEN FLIGHT OF THE UNMANNED BAT

Caption Credit: U.S. Navy. 40606-N-IQ177-002 STRAITS OF FLORIDA (June 06, 2014) During an experimentation conducted by U.S. Fourth Fleet and Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC), the BAT Unmanned Aircraft System flies over the Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) during its maiden flight off of a U.S. Navy vessel. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Jessica Crownover/Released).

FIRES BURN AT MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON

THE GRANDEST CANYON IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars: Explanation: The largest canyon in the Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The above mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Image and story credit: Viking Project, USGS, NASA.

A LOOK AT THE DUNES OF MARS

Nili Patera is one of the most active dune fields on Mars. As such, it is continuously monitored with the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, a science instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with a new image acquired about every six weeks. By monitoring the sand dune changes, we can determine how winds vary seasonally and year-to-year. This observation is one of the more recent Nili images, acquired on March 1, 2014. Compared to an image acquired on Nov. 22, 2012, changes are obvious. The ripples on the dunes have moved, as well some of the dune boundaries, such as the one at upper left. New landslides on the central dune's lee face are apparent. Such changes, in just 16 months (and finer scale changes have been seen in just a couple of weeks), demonstrate the effectiveness of wind in modifying the Martian landscape. HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. > More information and image products Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-Univ. of Arizona Caption: Nathan Bridges.

ROBONAUT 2 GETS HIS SPACE LEGS

NASA has built and is sending a set of high-tech legs up to the International Space Station for Robonaut 2 (R2), the station's robotic crewmember. The new legs are scheduled to launch on the SpaceX-3 commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station, scheduled launch Monday, April 14 at 4:58 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. These new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will provide R2 the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside and outside the space station. The goal is to free up the crew for more critical work, including scientific research. Once the legs are attached to the R2 torso, the robot will have a fully extended leg span of nine feet, giving it great flexibility for movement around the space station. Each leg has seven joints and a device on what would be the foot, called an "end effector," which allows the robot to take advantage of handrails and sockets inside and outside the station. A vision system for the end effectors also will be used to verify and eventually automate each limb's approach and grasp. Image Credit: NASA.

BIG FLARE BUT NO REAL SCARE

On Feb. 24, 2014, the sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:49 p.m. EST. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which keeps a constant watch on the sun, captured images of the event. These SDO images from 7:25 p.m. EST on Feb. 24 show the first moments of this X-class flare in different wavelengths of light -- seen as the bright spot that appears on the left limb of the sun. Hot solar material can be seen hovering above the active region in the sun's atmosphere, the corona. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, appearing as giant flashes of light in the SDO images. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.

GALAXY SHOCK

FROM NASA: Roguish runaway stars can have a big impact on their surroundings as they plunge through the Milky Way galaxy. Their high-speed encounters shock the galaxy, creating arcs, as seen in this newly released image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. In this case, the speedster star is known as Kappa Cassiopeiae, or HD 2905 to astronomers. It is a massive, hot supergiant moving at around 2.5 million mph relative to its neighbors (1,100 kilometers per second). But what really makes the star stand out in this image is the surrounding, streaky red glow of material in its path. Such structures are called bow shocks, and they can often be seen in front of the fastest, most massive stars in the galaxy. Bow shocks form where the magnetic fields and wind of particles flowing off a star collide with the diffuse, and usually invisible, gas and dust that fill the space between stars. How these shocks light up tells astronomers about the conditions around the star and in space. Slow-moving stars like our sun have bow shocks that are nearly invisible at all wavelengths of light, but fast stars like Kappa Cassiopeiae create shocks that can be seen by Spitzer’s infrared detectors. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech

THE FIRST FLAG ON THE MOON

Photo taken by Neil Arstrong of Buzz Aldrin with U.S. flag on the Moon. (mission time: 110:10:33) Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag. His fingertips are visible on the far side of his faceplate. Note the well-defined footprints in the foreground. Buzz is facing up-Sun. There is a reflection of the Sun in his visor. At the bottom of Buzz's faceplate, note the white 'rim' which is slightly separated from his neckring. This 'rim' is the bottom of his gold visor, which he has pulled down. We can see the LEC straps hanging down inside of the ladder strut. In the foreground, we can see the foot-grabbing loops in the TV cable. The double crater under Neil's Lm window is beyond Buzz and the LM shadow

JAPANESE H-IIA ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER

A Japanese H-IIA rocket with the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory onboard, is seen launching from the Tanegashima Space Center on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 (Japan Time), in Tanegashima, Japan. The GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours. Image Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls.

U.S. COAST GUARD BREAKING THE ICE

An aerial view shows the Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay breaking ice on the Hudson River, N.Y., Jan. 16, 2014. The Coast Guard conducts flights over the Hudson River to provide daily updates of ice conditions on waterways, including areas known as choke points where ice gathers, making river travel difficult for ships delivering petroleum products such as home heating oil. U.S. Goard Guard photo.

A LOOK AT THE CRAB NEBULA

This image shows a composite view of the Crab nebula, an iconic supernova remnant in our Milky Way galaxy, as viewed by the Herschel Space Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with important NASA contributions, and Hubble is a NASA mission with important ESA contributions. A wispy and filamentary cloud of gas and dust, the Crab nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that was observed by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054. The image combines Hubble's view of the nebula at visible wavelengths, obtained using three different filters sensitive to the emission from oxygen and sulphur ions and is shown here in blue. Herschel's far-infrared image reveals the emission from dust in the nebula and is shown here in red. While studying the dust content of the Crab nebula with Herschel, a team of astronomers have detected emission lines from argon hydride, a molecular ion containing the noble gas argon. This is the first detection of a noble-gas based compound in space. The Herschel image is based on data taken with the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instrument at a wavelength of 70 microns; the Hubble image is based on archival data from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Image credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MESS Key Programme Supernova Remnant Team; NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University).

NAVY'S FIRST RAY GUN

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) temporarily installed aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) in San Diego, Calif., is a technology demonstrator built by the Naval Sea Systems Command from commercial fiber solid state lasers, utilizing combination methods developed at the Naval Research Laboratory, July 30, 2012.

DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON

New Way To Control Hostile Crowds. March 14, 2012 Article. AFPS

WHERE STARS COME FROM

Illuminated by the light of nearby stars, the nebula M-78 exhibits a ghostly appearance in this 10-minute exposure taken with a 6" refractor at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Located in the constellation of Orion -- some1,600 light years from Earth -- this reflection nebula is known to contain more than 40 very young stars still in the process of formation. Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/MEO/Bill Cooke

FUTURE FLIGHT

Aeronautics: New Ideas for Greener Aircraft We are accelerating the nation’s transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and making commercial aviation safer, more fuel efficient, quieter, and more environmentally friendly through investments in revolutionary concepts for air vehicles and air traffic management. Three industry teams spent 2011 studying how to meet NASA's goals for making future aircraft burn 50 percent less fuel than aircraft that entered service in 1998, emit 75 percent fewer harmful emissions; and shrink the size of geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83 percent. Image Credit: NASA

What Is Wrong With The Sun?

Something unexpected is happening on the Sun. 2013 was supposed to be the year of "solar maximum", the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. Yet 2013 has arrived and solar activity is relatively low. Sunspot numbers are well below their values from 2011, and strong solar flares have been infrequent. The quiet has led some observers to wonder if forecasters missed the mark. Conventional wisdom holds that solar activity swings back and forth like a simple pendulum. At one end of the cycle, there is a quiet time with few sunspots and flares. At the other end, solar max brings high sunspot numbers and frequent solar storms. It’s a regular rhythm that repeats every 11 years. Image Credit: NASA/SDO

USS CONSTITUTION COMMERATES THE WAR OF 1812

"OLD IRONSIDES" IS STILL A COMMISSIONED WARSHIP

SPACEX DRAGON LAUNCHES

The Launch of SpaceX Dragon KSC-2012-2913 (22 May 2012) --- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Launch Complex-40 is ablaze as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program. During the flight, the Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA

USS ENTERPRISE IN 2001

011105-N-6259P-001 At sea aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Nov. 5, 2001 -- Sailors aboard USS Enterprise spell out "E = MC2x40" on the carrier's flight deck to mark forty years of U.S. Naval nuclear power as ship and crew return home from a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Douglass M. Pearlman. (RELEASED)

USS ARIZONA

The opening of hostilities in Europe in September 1939 spurred the rebuilding of the Navy’s battleship forces. Two years later, on Dec. 7, 1941, eight of the Navy’s battleships were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor. Six of these were subsequently repaired and returned to service. Credit: U.S. Navy

THE LAST BATTLESHIP

The last battleship on active duty was USS Missouri(BB 63) decommissioned Mar. 31, 1992. In the 21st century, there are no battleships in the United States Navy. Credit: U.S. Navy

MOM AND DAD

This blog is dedicated to Junior Lee and Dorothy Jean (Short) Brandt

APOLLO 13 CREW AND PRESIDENT NIXON

Credit: NASA

HOME WORLD EARTH

"A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin. Suomi NPP is NASA's next Earth-observing research satellite. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth. Suomi NPP is carrying five instruments on board. The biggest and most important instrument is The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS.

UNMANNED PREDATOR AIRCRAFT

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft prepares for takeoff in support of operations in Southwest Asia. Air Force officials announced Eglin Air Force Base complex in Florida as a candidate for an Air Force Reserve Command MQ-1 Remote Split-Operations squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter)

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LIFTS OFF INTO A DARK SKY

The Discovery space shuttle lifting off on the STS-119 mission from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SITS ON LAUNCH PAD

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LIFTS OFF

Kennedy Space Centre, Florida - Space Shuttle Discovery launches at the beginning of STS-60, the first mission in the Shuttle-Mir programme, carrying the first Russian cosmonaut ever to fly aboard the US Shuttle.